Hermione's Harry
by KitKatPotterLover
Summary: Begins just before the first task of the tournament. What ramifications do an injured Harry and a worried Hermione create? Can the love they eventually share survive Harry's impending battles with Voldemort? How different would the story have been if Harry had not immediately forgiven Ron? M Rating for violence, and smut in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Hermione's Harry

Author's Note: I own nothing but the plot of my own story, I hope you enjoy, I certainly enjoyed writing this… when I didn't have writer's block.

Chapter One:

Harry was panicking, hyperventilating, and going absolutely crazy. He was about to face the only dragon out of the four that Hagrid had not deemed sweet and cuddly, and that was an extreme for the half-giant. Hagrid kept three-headed dogs and Acromantulas as pets and he considered the Horntail dangerous!

Harry went back to shaking like a leaf, taking in deep breath after deep breath in an effort to calm himself enough to actually face his chosen dragon. "Harry, it's your turn," Cedric called softly. Harry nodded and made his way to the front of the tent, readying himself to step out. The cannon sounded and he took yet another deep breath as he stepped forward. The moment he caught sight of the dragon, he nearly fainted. The Horntail regarded him suspiciously, and growled when Harry moved to grab his wand. Harry gulped, and heard Hermione's voice in his head, telling him to concentrate on his intention.

When the Dragon took a step forward, he held his wand up yelling out, "Accio Firebolt!" The Dragon took a swipe at him and he dodged the beast, hiding behind a boulder. He still couldn't see his broom when the Dragon crushed the boulder he was hiding behind.

Harry jumped backward, and threw his arms up as he turned to face his reptilian enemy. _"NO!"_ He shouted, and remarkably, the dragon stopped. Its facial features morphed into an odd expression of confusion, and then one of recognition.

It bowed its head as a booming, serpent-like voice engulfed Harry. _"Human that speaks with a serpent tongue…"_ He nodded slowly, completely confused. _"I allow you to live, if you leave now."_ Harry watched as his broom sped toward him.

He shook his head with a sigh. _"I appreciate the offer, and I wish I could, but I can't…"_ he answered and hopped on his broom, almost avoiding the talons that grazed his torso. He fought through the pain as best as he could, beginning an aerial battle with the dragon, which he somehow won after several agonizing and horrifying minutes.

He crashed to the ground, the gravel an unwelcome and unpleasant feeling against his wounds. Nevertheless, he crawled to the nest, grabbing hold of the golden egg and passing out.

Hermione didn't realize that she was screaming as Harry collapsed and was loaded onto a stretcher being carried to into the Champion's tent. She didn't realize that she was running out of the stands as fast as her legs would carry her, or that Ron was shouting at her to sit back down. All that registered in her mind was that Harry was hurt and he needed her. She needed to know that he was going to be okay, and nothing would calm her down until she knew for certain. Nothing else mattered.

Just as she burst into the tent, she heard a blood-curdling scream of "SOMEONE FUCKING KILL ME! I CAN'T TAKE IT!" and ran straight for the familiar voice. The sight that met her eyes was enough to shatter her heart to bits. Harry was lying on a hospital bed shirtless, with three deep cuts stretching across his torso diagonally. It hit her suddenly that his dragon had gotten to him with its talons. His eyes were shut tightly as he shook uncontrollably and whimpered consistently as madam Pomphrey rubbed some kind of green salve into his wounds.

Hermione didn't hesitate, running to his side and taking hold of his hand with both of hers. "Harry, just hold on," she said softly and he turned to face her, opening his eyes and smiling for a moment before turning back to face the ceiling and screaming again. Hermione squeezed his hand tightly and kissed his forehead.

Pomphrey sighed and watched as the blood from Harry's wounds began to bubble, and he whimpered in pain yet again. "Damn," she muttered.

"What do you mean?!" Hermione cried. "Harry is going to be okay! He has to be okay, I can't lose him!" She yelled.

"Of course he'll be okay, but I can't do anything to heal him until the venom is completely forced out of his body, nor can I do anything to lessen the pain."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Then get rid of the venom!" She shouted at the medi-witch. "What is wrong with you people?!"

Pomphrey sighed and shook her head. "I asked the same question of Dumbledore, Miss Granger." She paused as Harry let out another pained yell, regaining Hermione's attention as she began to rub his shoulder. "As soon as the bubbling stops, I'll know that the venom is gone and I'll actually be of more use. It shouldn't take too much longer."

Hermione sighed and ran a hand through Harry's hair. "Harry, I need to see Dumbledore, I promise I'll be right back."

As she made a move to stand, Harry stiffened and gripped her hand harder, turning to face her. "Don't leave me," he begged. "Please Mione, I need you." She nodded without hesitation and kissed his forehead, rubbing his shoulder again.

"I'll get Dumbledore," Madam Pomphrey said softly and got up to leave. As she left, Harry let out another strangled cry that ripped at Hermione's heart.

"Shhh, it'll be okay, Harry. I promise, it'll be okay. I won't let anything happen, I'm right here and I'm not leaving. You're safe now Harry, you're going to be just fine, I promise I won't leave you."

Harry nodded slightly and cringed. "Sirius was right," he murmured and winced. "Fuck this hurts!" he yelled out as Hermione continued to hold his hand and rub his shoulder comfortingly.

"What was Sirius right about?" She asked in an effort to distract him from his pain.

Harry shook his head. "I'll tell you later," he nearly laughed out as he turned to face her. In that moment, he knew he'd been foolish. This young woman, she'd stood by him even as his so-called best mate turned away, she'd tutored him and cared for him, without a single request for herself. This amazing angel was a miracle, and maybe it was just the pain but Harry could have sworn that when he looked up at her she was glowing with brilliant light, weeping golden tears that splattered like delicate raindrops on his face and glasses. In that moment, she was his everything.

"Miss Granger?" Hermione turned to face the headmaster, recognizing his gentle voice, as Madam Pomphrey came in with a towel to clean Harry's wounds now that they were free of the Horntail's venom. "Poppy tells me that you wanted to speak with me?" Dumbledore asked, stepping into the room.

"Yes sir," Hermione nodded as Harry stiffened again. "I think Remus and his furry friend Padfoot ought to be brought to Hogwarts to see Harry." Harry was screaming as madam Pomphrey applied another healing salve to his wounds. Hermione's attention was instantly torn away from Dumbledore as she squeezed Harry's hand tightly. "Hold on Harry, just hold on. I'll be over soon, I promise. I'm not leaving, you're going to be just fine." She ran a hand though his hair and kissed his forehead again.

"Great minds think alike Miss Granger, they're already here. Once Poppy has set young Harry straight I'll send them both in to see him." Hermione just barely nodded her acknowledgement and continued to comfort her best friend.

It seemed as though it took years, but eventually Harry was bandaged up and given a pain potion. He would be perfectly fine, except for the future scars across his chest. Lupin walked in almost as soon as madam Pomphrey walked out, with Padfoot tailing him in his animagus form. Hermione looked up slowly, her eyes glistening and her face tear-stained. "How's our pup?" He asked of her softly as he sat down on the other side of the sleeping Hogwarts Champion. Padfoot sat down beside Hermione and rested his head on Hermione's lap. She had yet to let go of Harry's hand.

She sighed and brushed his bangs out of his eyes gently. "He isn't screaming anymore, or nearly breaking my hand, so I'm assuming that he's at least doing a little better."

Lupin nodded. "And how are you?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I'm not sure," she answered and wiped at her eyes. "I almost lost him… I don't know if I could survive that." Lupin nodded and stood up from his chair, walking around Harry and kneeling in front of Hermione.

"Thank you for taking care of our pup Hermione, you're an angel." She blushed and nodded, turning suddenly to see Harry begin to stir. As he sat up yawning, he turned to face Hermione and smiled.

"You stayed," he said softly.

Those two words were enough to send Hermione tumbling into another set of tears, but somehow she kept her composure. "Of course I stayed, I promised I wouldn't leave." Harry gazed into her eyes, determined to see straight into her very being, which caused the shy bookworm's face to turn pink. "Padfoot and Moony came to see you as well," she admitted and Harry's eyes widened as he turned to face two of his father-figures.

Padfoot wagged his tail excitedly and shifted back to his human form. "Sirius!" Harry quietly exclaimed and hugged his godfather. "Please tell me you've been okay."

"Of course I've been okay, Moony and I have been living in a safe place with Buckbeak. Are you okay? You just fought a bloody dragon! How does it feel to come out on top in that fight?" He asked with a grin.

Harry shrugged with his own smile. "The basilisk was scarier, at least I wasn't terrified to look at the damn thing half the time, its eyes alone were deadly."

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest. "You promised you wouldn't be reckless Harry. You promised!" She yelled.

Harry sighed and stepped out of his hospital bed, standing to face her, even though he was somewhat leaning against the bed. "Mione, I did everything I could considering the plan we came up with, the broom just didn't show up fast enough. I even spoke to the damn thing in Parseltongue to buy myself time, which I didn't even know I could do." He held both her hands in his own. "It scratched me as I was getting on my broom, I didn't have time to dodge."

Hermione bit her lip. "You really scared me, Harry. All I could think about was how hurt you were and how much I couldn't lose you. No matter how reckless, stubborn, and downright infuriating you can be, I can't imagine a world without you in it." She let out a sob and threw her arms around Harry, who in turn began to hold her close and run his hands through her hair in an effort to comfort her.

He found it odd that he was the one that nearly died, yet he was attempting to make her feel better. Of course, after a few moments of thought, he decided that it was fitting. She'd been strong for him while he was screaming and crying in pain, the least he could do was pay her back for it by holding her while she let out her emotions. It seemed to take hours, or even days, but in all actuality she'd only been crying for a few minutes when she sniffled and backed out of his embrace, wiping the tears from her face.

Neither teen seemed to notice that Sirius had rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Just like James and Lily," he murmured to Lupin, who nodded his head as Sirius shifted back into Padfoot and trotted out of the room.

Remus shrugged his shoulders and smiled, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I'll be back in the castle with Padfoot, most likely in the headmaster's office. Madam Pomphrey is probably going to be back rather soon to escort you to the hospital wing before she releases you back to your house." Harry nodded and smiled at Remus before the werewolf left. He spent the few minutes before Pomphrey returned holding Hermione close in an effort to comfort her. She deserved to be cared for, she'd done so for him.

Unfortunately, before madam Pomphrey walked in, someone with red hair, freckles and hand-me-down robes entered Harry's part of the tent. "Hey," he said quietly, raising his hand up in an awkward greeting, with his face contorted in apprehension.

Harry rolled his eyes. "What do you want Ron?" Harry asked as Hermione turned to face the new arrival, still leaning against Harry with his arms around her. "I thought we weren't on speaking terms, what with you believing that I'd be mad enough to cheat. Disregarding the fact that several students much older than me attempted to do exactly the same, and all failed. Come to your senses now that I've nearly died, have you?" He asked with a venomous tone that he never believed he would use toward the ginger he'd met before his first year had begun.

Ron gulped. "I wanted to see if you were okay. I heard screaming and no one would let me in until now…" He admitted and wrung his hands together. "And I wanted to apologize for being a git. I should have believed you, but I was insanely jealous of-"

"Don't finish that sentence, I don't want to hear it." To both boys' surprise, it was Hermione that had spoken up and interrupted Ron.

"I wasn't talking to you, Herms. I was talking to Harry." Ron crossed his arms over his chest, ready to start another yelling match with the brunette standing between the two boys.

"I know you weren't talking to me Ron, but frankly, I don't care. You have absolutely no reason to be jealous of Harry. He doesn't want to be famous, he'd give everything he has to have even one fleeting moment with his parents. You bitch and complain about having such successful brothers, but have you ever once attempted to do something great like they did? No, you haven't. Your study habits are meager and insulting, you have no tact, and your jealous tendencies are a constant depressant. Harry has had to face Voldemort three times in his life, fought for his life against a basilisk and about a hundred dementors, yet you still feel jealous. Shouldn't it be obvious by now that someone powerful tricked the goblet in order to force him into the tournament and possibly get him killed? No, because you can't see beyond yourself. Get out, and stay out. Harry doesn't need a tactless, jealous dolt trailing after him, and I don't want you around either."

Harry was stunned near silent by Hermione's speech, but he did not vocalize an argument or disagreement with anything she had said. Her words were accurate, and he felt no need to deny it. Ron however, was standing in the doorway with his jaw hanging open, stunned by Hermione's bold accusations. He could think of nothing to defend himself. "You heard her Ron, I'd like you to leave now please." Ron blinked several times before he finally shut his mouth for half a second and sighed.

"Fine, just thought that maybe we could go back to being friends." As he turned to walk out, Harry said something that shook Ron to his core.

"I'm not your golden ticket, Ron. Nor are we going to be friends again, at least not for now."

The air was exceedingly tense as Ron nodded and walked away. Hermione turned back to face Harry, biting her bottom lip. "Please don't be mad at me, I know I shouldn't have spoken for you and that my opinion may have been different from yours but I know you can be very forgiving and he's been such-"

Harry pressed a finger to her lips. "I'm not mad, I'm impressed. I've only seen you truly lay into someone like that twice now, and once you were being violent, which I'm also impressed with. I like that side of you, you should let it out more often." He dropped his finger from her mouth and smiled. "And maybe you're right that you shouldn't have spoken for me, but this time you were right to do so. I was planning on forgiving him, but you shed a bit of light on his and my friendship that I hadn't wanted to admit. Besides, I could tell that you had been waiting ages to say that, I could never be upset with you for letting out your anger when necessary, or for being protective of me."

Hermione nodded and was about to respond when Dumbledore and Pomphrey walked back into the tent. "Mr. Potter, Poppy is insisting upon taking you up to the hospital wing for a couple extra potions and to explain her recovery plan for you. I take it Miss Granger will be coming with you?" The elderly wizard asked kindly. Harry shared a look and a nod with Hermione.

"Yes sir, I have a feeling Hermione wants to help out, and I'm sure she'll consider this another opportunity to learn something new." Hermione's cheeks turned pink and Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he smiled.

"Very well then, we should probably go."


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione's Harry

Author's Note: Again, I do not own Harry Potter. I hope you all enjoy

Chapter Two:

"Mr. Potter will you at least sit down?" Pomphrey asked for the seventh time. Harry still had his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at the medi-witch.

"I'm perfectly fine, I don't feel the need to sit down now, so I would prefer to remain standing." Poppy rolled her eyes and threw her arms in the air, a huff of frustration escaping her lips. The next thing anyone knew, a chair had come speeding forward, knocking Harry off his feet and onto the cushion. He looked up at the healer with a mixture of shock and irritation. Poppy Pomphrey merely smirked, crossing her own arms over her chest. "That wasn't fair!" He cried childishly while Hermione giggled behind the hand she'd placed over her mouth only moments earlier.

Pomphrey shrugged her shoulders and took a few steps over to a tray filled with labeled vials, all filled with different colored liquids. "I asked you to sit politely seven times Mr. Potter. A lady with only the best intentions can be expected to use force when necessary. Now please, be patient while I look through this mess. I've been telling Albus for the last year and a half that I need someone to assist me but he never gets around to it. The poor man is always so busy…" She began to mutter to herself and eventually sighed and simply searched through the many different vials. "Ahh, okay, here we go." She picked up three vials and stood in front of Harry. "Now, this blue potion is a dreamless sleep potion, it'll be necessary at least for tonight in order to keep you from having any nightmares about that blasted Dragon. Nightmares will have you tossing and turning and stressing your wounds, this will prevent that."

She placed the vial in Harry's hand. "Thank you madam Pomphrey," he said politely, even though he felt rather sickened at the thought of the Dragon, which only really came up because she'd said something.

"Not a problem dearie," she said softly while waving her hand in a casual dismissal. "Next," she began and held up a black potion that seemed to still be bubbling in its vial. Harry didn't like the look of it. "This one is to speed up the healing process, but unfortunately, it will scar no matter what. Dragon trainers of all kinds end up with a collection of wounds just like yours and they never completely fade." Harry nodded and took the vial from her. The last that she held in her hand was an odd kind of lilac color. "And this is just another pain relief potion. You'll need to take that now, and starting tomorrow you'll see me every morning before breakfast and evening after dinner to get another, and so that I can check on how well you may or may not be healing."

Harry nodded and passed the two potions in his hands to Hermione, who took them without any hesitation while Harry took the pain potion that madam Pomphrey handed him. He gulped it down quickly, his face tensing up at the taste, which was rather awful. "Gaah, I hate this stuff, it tastes rancid."

Poppy shrugged her shoulders yet again. "You can't expect it to be pumpkin juice, Potter. Now, though it is against my better judgement, I suppose you can go. But I expect to see you here tonight directly after dinner and tomorrow morning before breakfast." Harry nodded and stood up immediately, taking the potions from Hermione and hurrying out of the hospital wing. He hated that place, truly despised it.

"Harry, will you please slow down!" Hermione called as she struggled and finally succeeded in catching up to him. "What is the big hurry?" She asked.

"Padfoot and Remus are in Dumbledore's office, and I hate the hospital wing," he answered as he shrugged his shoulders. They made their way to the headmaster's office at a slower pace in silence, neither of them sure what they should say about what had transpired in the tent.

Hermione had felt a shift in their friendship, and had actually been about to tell him how much she liked him or simply kiss him when Dumbledore walked in. Harry was sure that he liked Hermione, thought that maybe she liked him in return, but wasn't quite ready to admit it. She was his best friend after all, maybe she'd worry about risking their friendship… or she'd assume that he was just being polite and decline to date him, believing that it was out of pity for her or some stupid thing like that. As much as he admired her intelligence and observational skills and her penchant for reasoning with her mind rather than her emotions, sometimes he believed she was too logical for her own good, and in regards to herself would end up with misconceptions born out of humility and inaccurate perceptions.

So, down the corridors they walked until they reached the statue of the gargoyle. They both stopped short and rather suddenly remembered that they did not know the password. Hermione paled and sighed, ready to turn back and go to their common room, where most of Gryffindor was likely waiting for them. Harry was not so easily deterred, taking hold of Hermione's arm gently when she took a couple steps back. "Sherbet lemon?" He asked the Gargoyle, which did not move. He sighed and tried to think of other sweets Dumbledore may be fond of to guess the password.

"Alright then, time to start guessing," he muttered. "Pear drop," no movement. "Damn, Fizzing Whizbee, Bertie Bott's… no, he's not too fond of those… ummm…" He groaned in irritation. "Open already! Chocolate Frog! Sugar Quill! Cockroach Cluster!" Suddenly, the gargoyle sprang to life and jumped aside. Harry's eyes widened. "Damn, and that last one I wasn't even sure about. Let's go Mione."

Hermione's jaw had nearly hit the floor when the Gargoyle jumped aside to let them up, and didn't seem to process anything until they were standing outside the polished oak door to Dumbledore's office. They could hear voices from inside and for some reason Harry didn't open the door.

"Just like James and Lily, I swear Albus. The arguing over his safety was a clear indication where this is going, if it isn't there already. I could tell the moment she stood up for him in the shrieking shack. A thirteen year old girl standing between her friend and a dangerous murdering wizard for all she knew, definitely liked him then maybe even loved him. I remember the first time Lily started to like James. They'd argued just half a minute earlier but the moment Snivelly sent that stinging hex his way…" Sirius paused to laugh. "I don't think I'd ever seen her that enraged before that day. 'You ever pull that again Sev and I'll send you straight to St. Mungos. You'll never recover.' That woman was a force to be reckoned with."

Remus was laughing as well. "And Harry? Ha, I can remember what's happened when I changed once I change back. Stood right in front of her when I came at them, turning her to look away from me. I wonder when they'll admit it."

Hermione was pale as a ghost, Harry's eyes were wide. "That's just amazing, honestly. I told him, I said that all Potter men are just alike, finding their perfect witch early on in their lives and always going about their crush the wrong way. James's father, he was priceless, sent his future wife howlers filled with compliments for weeks on end until she shoved him in a broom cupboard and demanded that he stop or she wouldn't date him. James had his usual line of 'just date me Evans,' and I'm sure we all know how that went up until seventh year. And now we have Harry, stuttering in his third year, 'But we're just friends. She's brilliant, and we're friends, and I think she may like Ron, and we're friends.' Three references to being just friends in one minute!" Sirius was laughing again. "I call bullshit, and I want another shot of that Firewhiskey!"

Harry turned to Hermione with a smile. "Wanna make a scene?" He whispered. Hermione blushed and nodded. "Okay, head back down the staircase and start yelling at me to slow down." She quirked an eyebrow and shook her head.

"You'd better have a good plan, Harry." He gave her a dazzling smile and she hurried back down the stairs.

Before she began to yell at him, he burst into the room yelling, "Help! She's gonna kill me!" Sirius turned to face Harry with wide eyes and a hanging jaw.

"Harry James Potter get back here right now! I said we would see Padfoot and Moony but you shouldn't be running damn it!" Hermione screamed as she hurried up the stairs and burst through the door almost immediately after Harry. "Hello Dumbledore," she greeted politely, out of breath. Then she turned to Harry, and if looks could kill, the expression on her face would have done it. "Madam Pomphrey told you herself that you need to take it easy if you don't want to stress your wounds, and I promised that I'd make sure you didn't overdo anything. You shouldn't have been running!" She was standing almost a foot away from him when Harry winked and nodded, hanging his head.

They were interrupted by a soft noise similar to someone clearing their throat. Both teens turned to Dumbledore with red faces. "Err… Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to tell Padfoot and Moony I'm okay," Harry admitted, shuffling his feet.

Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling in delight as he nodded and stepped out from behind his desk. "It's wonderful to see that you're alright Harry. I wish you hadn't been in any danger at all or that your name hadn't come out of the goblet at least, but despite your injuries and the danger you were faced with you have honestly impressed me, as well as everyone else in this room." Sirius smiled appreciatively at Harry while Remus nodded his head slightly with a simple smile of encouragement.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I guess I did alright. Almost died, but when haven't I almost died when I'm on one of my crazy adventures with Hermione?" The girl to his right continued to blush.

"It's not a laughing matter Harry, you need to be more careful," she piped up while turning to the young man she'd liked ever since she watched him leap onto a troll in an effort to save her. Harry smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "I still think you should stay in the hospital wing until your scratches have healed up more."

Harry shook his head. "I'm not bleeding anymore, there's no more venom in my system, and I'm walking around just fine. I don't need to want to stay in the hospital wing." He crossed his arms over his chest in defiance and stuck his tongue out at her.

Hermione simply rolled her eyes at him. "Stubborn git," she muttered under her breath. Sirius chuckled at the two teens' behavior. "What're you laughing at, Mutt?" She asked slyly.

Sirius shuddered and lounged back in his seat. "Nothing, ma'am." He insisted. Remus snorted and Albus smiled. "So pup, how're you feeling?" Sirius asked cautiously.

Harry shrugged. "I feel just fine, probably only because of the pain relief potions but that doesn't really matter much to me." Hermione huffed and Harry just kind of smiled. "Mione thinks that's a load of hippogriff dung and wants me to be a lazy lay about until I'm completely healed up."

"I don't want you to be lazy, I just don't want you to overexert yourself and end up in a worse state. You should take it easy Harry."

Of course, Harry's smile always widened. "That's Hermione for you, always looking out for me. I doubt anyone cares about me as much as she does."

Hermione didn't say a word, simply took a step back as she blushed. Harry took a few steps forward to hug his godfather and "uncle", as well as the headmaster to everyone's surprise. When he'd stepped back, Dumbledore smiled kindly and sat back down at his desk. "Well, I'm glad you're here Harry. I wanted to inform you that you came in second place behind Mr. Diggery in the first task. Followed closely by Krum with Fleur in fourth place." Harry nodded slowly.

"Even though I was injured I still gained that high a score?" He asked.

"Absolutely. Maxime and I believed that your courage to continue on after being fatally wounded by the dragon showed how dedicated, brave, and outstanding your performance was. Mr. Diggery was in first place only because the only injury he suffered was a slight burn in a few places and was quick about his attack and claiming of the golden egg. Krum ended up smashing the rest of the eggs, which was an automatic point deduction, and Fleur never actually claimed her egg." Harry smiled somewhat even though he knew he shouldn't be happy that Krum had screwed up and Fleur didn't manage to accomplish her goal. Maybe it was just that Slytherin part of himself he never liked to admit existed that just loved knowing that he'd done better, while others had failed miserably.

"Nice going pup, you'd have made your father very proud." Sirius' words brought a wider smile to

his face as Hermione hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek.

The rest of his visit went this way, light-hearted chatting about how he'd bested a dragon and his fellow competitors, a few comments here and there about how Harry's parents would have been proud, light affection from Hermione. But one thing never left his mind, and that was the conversation Sirius and Remus had been having before he burst through the door to shut them up.

He kept thinking about how Sirius mentioned that every other man in his family had found his perfect witch but failed to appeal to her until much later. He thought of Hermione and how she was always by his side, considered the pain-induced image he had of her bathed in dazzling light a crying golden tears, and even asked himself what he was waiting to see from her.

First year she thanked him for saving her and spent the bulk of the school year helping him out with school, and with his quest to figure out what the bloody hell was going on. She'd even followed him down the trap door, and gotten him through almost every chamber. But most astounding of all was her reaction when she saw him in the hospital wing. She looked as if she hadn't slept for several weeks, and the moment her eyes landed on him, she brightened considerably and even lunged at him for a hug.

Second year she'd attempted to lie to a professor to save his arse, yet again. She stood by him while everyone else, even Ron to a lesser degree, shied away from him because his ability to speak to snakes had been revealed. She devoted a large chunk of her time and energy during the year to brewing the polyjuice potion, which she'd only done to prove that Harry was innocent. Perhaps most enlightening of all that year was how she instantly ran to Harry the moment she'd been cured and threw her arms around him. She had been so proud of him for solving the mystery of what the monster in the chamber was and who had actually been the heir of Slytherin.

Third year was probably the one that really proved how devoted to him she was, disregarding the current mess with the Triwizard Tournament. Risking his anger to protect him from a broom that may have been dangerous, and their adventure at the end of the year. Revealing her time-turner to him and using it to save Buckbeak and Sirius. They'd never discussed it, but after Lupin attacked in his wolf form and had been driven away by their feathery friend, Hermione had kissed him. They never talked about it, never gestured that they should, and never once admitted that to anyone. It was their secret that they pretended never occurred. As a matter of fact, Harry often beat himself up mentally when he thought about it. He'd decided long ago that it was a forbidden topic and should never be brought up again, but perhaps he was wrong.

He glanced at Hermione walking beside him with a smile, and thought about that night again. About how it felt having his arms around her for the few moments that they'd forgotten their senses. He thought about how it felt to forget that best friends don't snog each other. Most of all, he wondered how he would feel if he brought it up now, and what her reaction would be. Had she locked away their one kiss in her mind as well? Had she decided it was a forbidden topic? Did he want her to have seen it that way, or did he want her to have wished that they'd gone on a date together after that?

He took a deep breath. _Only one way to find out_ , he thought to himself. "Hermione," he said softly and took hold of her hand gently. "Do you remember when we went back in time last year?" He asked, shuffling his feet.

Hermione bit her lip and nodded. "Yes," she said cautiously, worried she'd overstep some sort of unspoken boundary.

"You remember after Lupin attacked us, right?" He asked. She nodded again, her face turning pink. "Well… umm… did you mean to kiss me?"

Hermione's eyes widened and she turned her head down to stare at her shoes. "Yes, I meant to," she murmured. She hoped Harry wouldn't have heard her but his hearing was far better than she thought.

"Would you be upset with me if I kissed you?" He asked tentatively. Hermione instantly looked up at him, surprised at his question.

"It depends on why you'd want to, Harry." She admitted and crossed her arms over her chest, tossing her hair back. "I'm not desperate for someone to snog Harry, when I kissed you last year it was mostly out of gratitude and shock. But… I do like you. Of course, you're probably used to that by now." She seemed almost bitter at this point, letting out a disgruntled groan. "Nearly every girl in this school wants to be with you, including a ghost that's been dead for over fifty years. Where do I stand on that list full of attractive girls?" She asked.

Harry smiled. "Well not even half the girls in our house have bothered to so much as talk to me, Myrtle is incredibly creepy, and Ginny actually worries me… I think she's got hero-worship issues. My point is that the only people that have actually gotten to know me over the past few years are you and Ron. And if I was ever going to date anyone, you're the only witch I'd consider."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "That's rather hard to believe Harry. I'm… not like most other girls. I know what guys say about my hair, and my clothes and my books."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm glad they talk all that garbage because now I've got no competition trying to win you over. You're amazing Hermione, and in damn near every way. You're a true to Merlin intellectual with a thirst for learning that actually inspires me to care about school, your hair may be uncontrollable but I like to think that it reflects you perfectly, beautiful in a unique and untamable way. As for your clothes…" He took a good look at how she was dressed. A black T-shirt, jeans, and a red sweater. She wasn't showing off her body but she wasn't exactly hiding either. "I appreciate a young lady that's willing to leave something to the imagination." Hermione's cheeks were incredibly pink as Harry complimented and appraised her. "So, what would you think about going to Hogsmead with me this weekend?" He asked politely.

Hermione considered what he'd said and asked. Her answer was to throw her arms about his neck and kiss him passionately. The moment she began to pull away, he pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her back with a loving intensity that stunned her near completely. It seemed as if days had passed when they finally broke apart, holding on to one another's hands. "I'd love to go with you to Hogsmead this weekend."

Harry smiled. "Good, now let's go back to the common room. I'm sure the twins are up to something to try and congratulate me on besting a bloody dragon." Hermione found herself giggling as Harry wrapped an arm around her waist and led her back to the tower.

Harry was right about the Weasley twins planning something to celebrate Harry's performance against the horntail. When he passed the portrait, he was suddenly pulled in to the common room and raised up in the air by the twins themselves as loud music blasted from somewhere and everyone waved flags adorned with the phrase "Potter's the Best" as they danced and cheered. A long table had been conjured seemingly from nowhere which was filled to the brim with foods all kinds. Hermione was watching as Harry was hauled up onto the Twins shoulders and cheered when he held up the golden egg.

Harry's eyes searched for Hermione as he held up his egg when he saw her cheering and laughing, he smiled and held it up higher. There were banners hung everywhere of the horntail and Harry. Words of encouragement and congratulations were all over the place. The energy in the room was insane, driving Harry to do something he'd never thought he would do. The moment the Twins set him back on the ground, He pulled Hermione into his arms and kissed her.

All around the two of them, everyone's cheers were louder and more enthusiastic than before. When the couple broke apart, Hermione was blushing and laughing, swept up in the chaotic celebration as well.

After several hours filled with dancing, cheering, snogging, and generally enjoying themselves, Gryffindor house eventually calmed down and began to travel to their dorms for a good night's rest. As less and less people stayed around to celebrate, Harry found himself almost alone with Hermione, lounging in his favorite chair. Hermione was asleep, snuggling against Harry. Harry was so comfortable he fell asleep shortly after she did, holding her close. He'd never been happier in his life. For once, everything was going right…


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione's Harry

Author's Note: I still don't own Harry Potter, I appreciate everyone who's been reading and has enjoyed what I've begun to put together.

Chapter three

After waking up in Harry's arms, greeting him with a good morning kiss, and running upstairs to generally get herself ready for the day, Hermione found herself in her dormitory in the middle of what seemed to be an unscheduled press conference. Every girl in her dorm was sitting up waiting for her and the moment she walked into the room they all began to crowd her with questions.

"When did you and Harry start snogging?"

"How good is he at it?"

"Do you feel special?"

"How far have you gone?"

"ENOUGH!" She ended up screaming out. "Bloody hell people, I'm not here to be a gossip monger! Leave me in peace so I can get a shower and dress myself." Because she was so rarely confident and independent, every girl in their room shied away and allowed her to gather her clothes and head to the bathrooms without any further questioning.

Hermione's shower was rather relaxing. The warm water relaxed her aching muscles and helped to clear her mind which was a mess of information, emotions, and pleasant daydreams. By the time she stepped out of the shower she was ready to face the day. She slipped into a pair of comfortable black jeans, pulled on a crimson tank top and a gold-colored sweater, and shrugged before trying something different with her hair. Instead of brushing it out and creating a bushy mess, she flipped her hair over, shook it out wildly, and flipped it back against her back. Maybe if she stopped fighting nature she wouldn't hate her hair as much.

As she checked herself in one of the mirrors, she decided to not judge herself and simply smile. She felt better than she had in a long time as she walked out of the dormitory. As she descended the stairs she repeatedly told herself to breathe, that it was just Harry and everything would be fine. By the final step, she was relaxed. Unfortunately, the moment she reached the common room was the moment she began to panic again.

Harry was seated in the comfy chair near the fireplace, which was normal of course and obviously not cause for alarm. What was nerve-wracking was the fact that Ginny Weasley was almost lounging over the arm of the chair, staring at Harry with that flirting expression she'd begun to use at the beginning of the last year.

Hermione debated with herself about how to handle the situation in front of her. A moment or two of observation told her that Harry wasn't at fault. He looked dreadfully uncomfortable, and had confessed several times in a joking manner that what he loved most about the map was that it made avoiding the obsessive red-head much easier. So yelling at him was certainly not a good idea because he didn't deserve it. Yell at Ginny possibly? No, it would probably just hurt her more than necessary and make Harry twice as uncomfortable. She could ignore Ginny flirting with her boyfriend, but the jealousy was eating at her.

Then, Ginny crossed the line. She tucked a lock of her flaming hair behind her ear and placed her hand over Harry's. _That is it!_ Hermione thought to herself and nearly stomped all the way over to her boyfriend. Before either of them had even registered that Hermione had appeared she was seated in Harry's lap, her arms around his neck and her lips against his. Though Harry had been caught completely off guard, he responded to Hermione enthusiastically until they eventually broke apart to breathe.

At that point, Hermione smiled. "Good morning Harry," she said flirtatiously and turned to face Ginny, whose face was nearly as red as her hair. "My apologies Ginny, I didn't see you. Would you mind excusing my boyfriend and I? We have plans for today, after a trip to the hospital wing." She didn't wait for an answer from the seemingly petrified and enraged Weasley. Instead, she stood up almost immediately, pulling Harry to his feet and practically storming out of the common room.

Harry was laughing once the portrait shut behind them. "I never thought you'd be the jealous type, Hermione. I promise I wasn't doing anything."

Hermione smiled and shrugged. "I know you didn't do anything Harry. And jealous isn't the right word. I'm possessive and territorial." They began to walk hand in hand toward the hospital wing as Harry gave Hermione a look of confusion.

"What's the difference?" He asked.

"Jealousy means that I want something that isn't mine. Territorial means that I don't trust other girls to keep their hands off of what's mine and I find myself rather angry when my trust issues are validated. Being possessive just means that because we're dating I view you as mine. I'm sure you see me as yours, even a little bit." Harry nodded as they entered the hospital wing.

A quick dose of potion, changing of bandages and check of approval later, they were on their way to the great hall holding on to one another's hands. "So, you snogged me senseless in my favorite chair, in front of Ginny, because you wanted her to stop flirting with me?" Harry asked as they walked through the door way and sat down at the table.

Hermione shrugged again and sat down beside him. "Gryffindor is a lion den, Harry. If you don't lay claim to what's yours the whole pride will be after a piece." She filled her plate with food as she expressed this to Harry. "I wasn't lying when I told you that nearly every girl in this school wants you, Harry. You're probably the single most desirable bloke in this school and that appeal is doubled in our house. Now that we're together it would be foolish of me if I didn't make it clear that you're my boyfriend."

Harry was slightly confused again. "Didn't I do that last night when I kissed you in front of everyone?" He asked.

Hermione shook her head. "No, it's different for you. It doesn't matter if you snog me in front of everyone at a party where everyone is being hectic and having a blast. The only real message that sends to everyone is that you've picked someone to celebrate with for the night and after that you can change your mind freely. As I already said, Gryffindors are like legitimate lions and lionesses."

Harry was genuinely intrigued, mostly because he had no idea Hermione paid such close attention to their peers. There was no denying that she was brilliant, but analyzing her classmates' behavior to such a degree? It was odd considering how much she liked to distance herself from them all.

"Okay," he said thoughtfully. "Would you care to explain in more detail?"

Hermione nodded with a smile. "Okay think of it this way, a lion's pride always has more lionesses than lions, and most of the time there's only one or two males and several females, all giving the lion every bit of their attention. Gryffindors tend to behave in a similar fashion." Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry's confused expression. "Okay, you probably haven't noticed so I'll give you an example. Take a look at Fred and George." Harry still looked confused. "Oh for the love of Merlin Harry, look!"

He sighed and searched the table in for the twins. He nearly threw up the potion he'd taken and half the piece of bacon he'd managed to eat when he finally caught sight of them.

Fred and George had two girls sitting between them, staring at the boys with a dreamy expression as they ate and joked with each other. Across from them was Lee Jordan and two more girls that seemed rather enamored with the twins as well, laughing too enthusiastically at all of their jokes. "Blimey, are they even aware of that?" Harry asked of Hermione as he tore his eyes away from Fred and George and returned his focus to Hermione.

Hermione giggled. "Now, why do you think they've got four girls desperate to get in their pants?" She asked.

Harry shrugged. "They're both on the quidditch team, they've got one of the toughest jobs on the team, and they make everyone laugh?"

"Fred and George are rebels, pranksters, and stars on the house team. They've got a reputation for breaking rules and doing whatever they want, and it doesn't matter how many points they lose with their careless thrill-seeking, because everyone always loves them. They're also rather attractive which is a definite plus for them, and that makes them perfect candidates to be the unofficial kings of Gryffindor, the leaders of the lion den. No one calls them that of course, but that's what they've become. Girls from fifth, sixth and seventh year in our house all want to be with them, but it's common knowledge that Fred is Angelina's and George belongs to Alicia."

Harry nodded, beginning to understand. "And they're the only ones? There aren't any other blokes that have been in their shoes?" Harry asked.

"Of course there have been others, Harry. Most of the time everyone has figured out who's going to be next by the middle of their third year. A couple times they're actually very close in age. Wood was 'king' just before the twins really began to gain a following. Now that Oliver has finished school all of his old fan girls that were left behind hopped on the Twin bandwagon. And I'm sure the Marauders all shared the same unofficial title while they were in school."

Harry nodded and went back to eating until he turned to face Hermione with another question. "You think I'm next, don't you?" He asked.

Hermione giggled. "There's never been a doubt in my mind that you're next, Harry. I didn't figure all of this out until about a month after we became friends, and once I connected the dots I knew you'd be in their place sooner or later." She took a sip of milk and licked her lips. "At the time I figured I would stand between you and all of your fan girls to keep you from being crowded at every moment."

"Now you're in a much different position," Harry joked and wrapped an arm around her waist.

Hermione rested her head on his shoulder and seemed to purr. "And I am certainly enjoying it."

The rest of breakfast passed by quickly. Neville sat across from them at one point and how their morning was going, Ron shot them a glare that they ignored, Ginny tried to sit beside Harry, until she saw Hermione's scowl.

Unfortunately, when they left the great hall and began their walk to Hogsmead, Harry's mind wandered to an unpleasant place and didn't leave it until Hermione pinched his arm as they sat down in the Three Broomsticks. "What have you been thinking about, Harry?" She asked after their each ordered a butterbeer.

Harry shook his head. "Yesterday, Dumbledore's office. Everyone was talking about how proud my parents would be of me, but I keep thinking that there's more that I could do. Working harder on my schoolwork of course, that would be a great place to start. But then I think about how I don't seem to pay attention to anything closely enough, and how there are so many things I could be doing that I haven't been doing."

Hermione nodded. "I study with you to help you get better grades on your own," she suggested.

Harry smiled and hugged her. "You're a life saver, and I am most definitely up for that. But I was also thinking… I want to be an animagus." Harry almost wished he could take back what he had said because Hermione seemed stunned by his admission.

"Is there a reason for that, Harry?" She asked cautiously, watching his expression. "The process can be incredibly dangerous if mistakes are made, and even the best of us can make a small miscalculation."

Harry smiled and nodded. "I thought of doing so to honor my dad's memory, taking that risk for his best friend so he wouldn't be alone every full moon." He paused for a moment. "And I know I'm not a genius, which was why I planned on begging an intellectual with a heart of gold to help me, and possibly join in."

Hermione's eyes widened and she stared at the butterbeer in front of her as if it held all the secrets of the world. Become an animagus with Harry? Run with him as an animal every full moon to honor his father's memory? It was almost too good an offer to refuse. But she had to be certain…

"Harry, if you're asking me to do this with you I need to know that you're being serious. That you truly want to share this experience with me." Harry nodded and took Hermione's hand in his. "It'll be an incredibly difficult and lengthy project. Even more so than the polyjuice potion our second year, Harry. And it may also be far more time consuming."

Harry nodded again. "I'm sure Hermione and I know that it's also a very personal experience. What my dad and his friends did isn't normal for people seeking to become animagi, but I do want to do this with you Hermione. Please?" He asked.

Hermione sighed and thought about it all in detail. They didn't know how much time it would take, what all they had to do, how to go about starting this process, or anything else of the sort. They didn't even know where to look for the information they would need. But all it took was that look on Harry's face and she smiled, nodding as well. "Alright Harry, I'll become an animagus with you."


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione's Harry

Author's Note: I don't own Harry Potter, nor am I going to pretend that I do. I appreciate the feedback and the favorites, you guys are all amazing and I'm thrilled that people really like my writing. Thank you all! Also, I wanted to mention that I've always liked the idea of Harry and Hermione becoming Animagi, so it'll probably be a common occurrence in my other stories. And in this one they'll accomplish it faster than most because they are both predisposed to being animagi. Harry's father was one, and I'd like to think the polyjuice fiasco gives Hermione a leg up as well.

Chapter Four

Over a week went by marked by Harry and Hermione's ever-growing affections toward one another. Everyone in Gryffindor had grown accustomed to seeing the pair cuddled up in Harry's favorite chair by the fire while studying together. They were never vulgar at meal times or in public, nor had they gone much further than a slightly passionate snog once or twice in a day, but there was no doubt that they were a couple judging by their interactions with one another.

Any time they were walking in the halls together they'd be holding hands or Harry would have his arm wrapped around Hermione's waist. They would sit next to each other in every class they had together, always partnered with one another, and many students in and out of their house had sometimes caught one of them admiring the other when their attention was somewhere else. They had both grown far more confident as well, seeming to ignore the glares that two of the best known Weasleys kept sending their way.

But the first test of their relationship was marked with something completely unexpected. Transfiguration was almost over one day when McGonagall cleared her throat to gain the attention of her students. Everyone looked up immediately, giving their professor their undivided attention in order to not get on the woman's bad side. No one ever wanted to suffer the wrath of Minerva McGonagall.

"Before you all depart to your next class, I have an announcement to make." She paused, making sure everyone was listening. "The Yule Ball is approaching, which is a traditional part of the Triwizard tournament, giving us all an opportunity to socialize with our foreign guests. It is an opportunity to enjoy ourselves, but that does not mean that we are all going to behave like a band of bumbling baboons. We will not be relaxing the standards of behavior we expect from Hogwarts students and I will not tolerate a Gryffindor student embarrassing the school, and me." The bell rang and everyone began to gather their things. "Potter, I'd like a word before you leave." Harry sighed and turned to Hermione who pressed her lips to his cheek and smiled before walking out with the promise that she would wait for him outside the door.

Harry smiled as he watched her leave the room, packed up his things and trudged up to McGonagall's desk. He was sure this was not going to be a pleasant discussion. His head of house usually did not praise him. "Did I do something wrong Professor?" He asked politely.

McGonagall smiled and shook her head. "No Potter, you did not. I simply needed to convey a message concerning you and the other champions. You see, another tradition of the tournament is that the champions open the ball with their dance partners." Harry's face turned pale. "I trust you'll find someone to accompany you, and I'm sure I already know who you will ask." At that, he began to blush slightly and he nodded.

"Only if she doesn't mind the fact that I'd probably be stepping all over her feet. I can't dance." McGonagall gave him a sympathetic look.

"I'm sure Miss Granger would be delighted to accompany you, and I have no doubt she wouldn't mind teaching you not to embarrass yourself or her. Now, you'd best hurry off to your next class." Harry nodded, slung his back over his shoulder and ran out the door to find Hermione leaning against the stone wall studying the floor.

"Ready for Charms?" He asked her and she turned to face him with a smile and outstretched hand.

"Lead the way, Harry," she answered as he took her hand and they departed from the transfiguration corridor.

For the rest of the day, he kept wondering whether he was going to ask her or not. Would she assume that they would be going together? Would she be disappointed if he didn't outright ask or irritated if he did? Would she even want to go? What was a teenage wizard supposed to do in this insane situation that made no sense?

For three days he mulled it over in his head, unsure of what he was supposed to do about this blasted ball! And then it happened. Harry found Hermione in the library and was going to walk up and ask to join in her study session when Krum walked past him and straight toward his girlfriend. Harry hid behind one of the book cases, listening to their conversation.

"Miss Granger," Krum said gruffly. Harry heard the sound of Hermione shutting the book she had open.

"Hello Krum, is there something I can help you with?" She asked politely.

"Yes, I vos vondering if you vould accompany me to the ball," he said. Harry was stunned, unsure of what she would say and hoping she wouldn't go with the Bulgarian.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you sir, but I'm planning on going with my boyfriend Harry. At the moment I'm just waiting for him to ask me or make some sort of indication that we're going. Thank you for asking though and I will admit that I am flattered, even though I am uninterested."

"If he has not asked you, vhy vait for him to ask?" Krum asked.

Hermione huffed and Harry could imagine that she had crossed her arms over her chest. "Because he's my boyfriend and I'm a one man woman. I'm not going to go to the ball with someone else just because he's clueless on whether he should formally ask me or just assume we're going together and I'm sure that's the only reason he hasn't asked me outright. Now, if you would please leave me to my studying, I would be highly appreciative."

Harry watched Krum walk back out of the library and heard him grumbling with displeasure. He sneaked a peak at Hermione and smiled. Watching her study was a secret pleasure of his. He loved to analyze all of her little quirks and movements when she was reading or working on an assignment or taking notes. When he twirled a curl about her fingers she was intrigued with whatever she was reading. When she bit or nibbled on her lip she was attempting to understand something more complex that didn't instantly make sense to her. When she pressed the feather end of her quill to her lip while working on an assignment she was thinking about how to phrase something or organizing her thoughts before beginning.

He waited and watched for about three minutes before stepping out from behind the book case and sitting across from her at her table. "What are you studying, Mione?" Harry asked and held back a chuckle of amusement when Hermione looked up with a startled expression.

"Transfiguration," she admitted. "I know we're both ahead of our work, but I was thinking that an advanced transfiguration book would hold some kind of clue as to where we should look to find information about the animagus transformation. It's part of an advanced branch of transfiguration after all." Harry nodded and smiled.

"It would make sense, but I doubt it'll be that simple. I did ask Remus and Sirius if they can help us out though, and they should be sending me a response soon." Hermione looked up at Harry and smiled.

"Why didn't I think of that? You're brilliant Harry, truly brilliant."

Harry shook his head. "Nah, you're the brilliant one between the two of us. I just think of simpler solutions. Before I decided to send them a letter I planned on sneaking into the restricted section using the cloak again, but I'm not looking forward to another experience like that. Screaming books are not fun."

Hermione giggled and shut her book, smiling at Harry. "I'm hungry, how would you feel about stopping by the kitchens?" She asked.

Harry's eyes widened. "You haven't dropped S.P.E.W. have you?" He asked.

Hermione shrugged. "I sat down and had a long conversation with Dobby. He told me that most elves enjoy being bonded to a wizard family and prefer that existence to being free and that if he had a non-abusive family he could serve, he would give up wages to bond to that wizard family and serve again." She sighed. "After hearing his side of it, I've decided I'm not going to demand that elves change their outlook on serving wizarding families, but I do want to keep wizards from mistreating the elves that serve them. It makes elves happy serving a family and usually it's a decent environment, but Dobby was miserable serving the Malfoys simply because they were abusive."

Harry smiled. "I'm glad you're finally taking their opinions into account. I know you just want the best for them all because they seem to have a raw deal, but you never know the truth about something until you look at both sides of the situation."

Hermione nodded reluctantly. "I supposed you're right but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Anyway, why don't we just stop by the kitchens?" She asked and stood up, gathering her things. Harry followed suit, stepped around the table and offered his hand.

As they made their way to the kitchens and ate a delicious meal, Harry's mind kept straying to how he was going to ask Hermione to the Yule ball. After she turned down a famous and attractive international quidditch player for him, the least he could do was ask her to go with him in a memorable fashion.

An idea struck him when he walked into the common room after they ate. He turned to Hermione and told him he was going to talk to the twins about quidditch next year and kissed her softly before walking away. Hermione shrugged her shoulders and made her way up to the girls' dormitory so she could spend time with her cat and read in peace.

Harry hurried over to Fred and George and the Twins glanced up at him with grins. "And what can we do for the Gryffindor Champion tonight?" One of them asked.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Look, there's something I need help with. I want to ask Hermione to the ball properly and I want to do something super crazy." Both Twins thought for a moment, nodded to each other and smiled.

"Of course we'll help."

"Just tell us what you want us to do."

"We'll get it done."

"We swear!"


	5. Chapter 5

Hermione's Harry

Author's Note: Again, I don't own Harry Potter, and I don't have the idea of how they're going to become animagi completely figured out, but I'm drawing inspiration from other depictions to come up with my own ideas. Also, I want to thank all you for reading again. I really do appreciate it.

Also, big announcement! I have read all of the reviews and I was thrilled to see a few questions that I can answer, which I will be answering right now!

No, everything's not all about to go wrong, ha, ha. I just wanted to express that things tend to go very badly for Harry but that wasn't the case this time. Also, Harry does want to make asking Hermione to the ball memorable and will do exactly that because he believes she deserves that from him. And finally, Hermione did not know that Harry was listening while Krum was talking to her. She felt insulted by his arrogance in assuming that she would dump Harry to go with him, and because she knows Harry she came to the conclusion that he hadn't asked yet out of confusion regarding the protocol of asking someone you're dating to something like a ball. Thank you all so much for the reviews and the questions and enthusiasm! Please enjoy!

Chapter Five

Hermione woke feeling lighter and happier than normal, and sat up smiling. After she'd showered and dressed herself she hurried down the stairs with Crookshanks in her arms to find everyone waiting for her behind Harry. When she looked up she saw a banner made of fireworks spelling out the words, "Will you go to the ball with me Mione?"

She looked at Harry, scratching the back of his neck, his face warped with nervousness. Hermione smiled, let Crookshanks down and flung herself into Harry's arms, kissing him in front of the entire Gryffindor house. When she broke away partially to breathe, Harry asked vocally if she was agreeing or not. "Of course I'll go with you Harry!" She yelled and everyone began to cheer.

The students of Hogwarts spent the rest of the time leading up to the ball talking about it and asking each other to go with them. Girls seemed to be obsessed with the ball and blokes seemed terrified to even bring it up.

Hermione rarely left Harry's side in the days leading up to the ball, and only a couple mornings after he'd asked her to go to the ball with him Hedwig delivered a package at breakfast. He eagerly grabbed the letter and fed Hedwig a piece of his bacon as he opened the letter.

Harry,

I think I know why you want this book and I hope you manage to accomplish your goal without too many incidents. If you want honesty, the only real reason it took your father and I three years is because Peter kept making so many bloody mistakes. And tell Hermione I'm sure she won't make any mistakes, I figure she's doing this with you. Good luck pup, and if you need any help I'd be more than willing to provide it.

Padfoot.

Harry passed the letter to Hermione and noticed that she was blushing by the time she handed it back to him. They decided to wait until after the ball to start the process of becoming animagi.

Christmas Eve was a big night for Gryffindor house. They brought in a huge tree, decorated it until it was beyond gaudy and even placed a red and gold star on top. Harry and Hermione cuddled in their chair again as Fred and George sang every Christmas carol they knew to entertain everyone. The rest of the Gryffindors would join in singing often, while Seamus and Dean came back with hot chocolate and butterbeer for everyone. It couldn't have gotten better, until someone hung up mistletoe and everyone gathered in a circle on the floor to talk about the past few years.

"And then he jumped on the Troll's shoulders! The blasted thing grabbed him by his ankle and hung him upside down, swinging at him with a giant club as he yelled at Ron to do something!" Hermione yelled as everyone laughed. Harry was blushing at this point as he downed the last of his butterbeer. "So Ron finally manages to make something levitate, and it's the club, which lands on the troll's head! The troll is knocked out at this point, Harry got tossed across the room and hit the wall. I'm still cowering as if it will wake up any second and kill me, while Ron is standing in the doorway with his jaw on the floor, unable to believe what just happened!"

Harry was laughing now as he took over. "Then the professors come in and McGonagall actually looked as if she may faint, and Hermione lies to save our arses! She'd never lied to a teacher before and here she is telling her head of house that we saved her life because she was being reckless and went looking for the troll! Complete and utter bullshit!" Harry shouted out as everyone around them continues to laugh. "She may be the most brilliant witch I've ever met but her lies are so farfetched you can catch her in them three words in. She almost got us caught when we took her to the hospital wing second year. Imagine it, Ron and I just ran to Myrtle's bathroom because we've turned back into ourselves after taking a dose of polyjuice potion, she's hiding in a stall. So Myrtle is cackling, we open the door and see her with her back to us, a tail swishing back and forth, and a pair of cat ears!"

The twins were rolling on the floor laughing while Ginny did her best to hide her giggles and everyone else was torn between laughter and an expression like they'd been clubbed over the head.

"How did you two get together?" Ginny finally asked when everyone seemed to have recovered. Harry's face paled as he gulped. Hermione bit her lip.

"Do you want to tell them, Harry? I told you why I did what I did last year, and I have no idea why you started thinking about it that day." Everyone turned to face Harry and he gulped again.

"Okay… A couple days before term ended last year, Hermione and I were out in the forbidden forest at night. Don't ask why, we can't tell anyone and it had nothing to do with us." Everyone nodded and waved him on. "Well, we were attacked by professor Lupin in his wolf form, but one of the hippogriffs of Hagrid's came to our rescue and drove him off. When he was coming at us I was trying to hide Hermione behind me and when he left she kind of turned me around and kissed me. We didn't talk about it. Ever. I kind of labeled it in my head as a forbidden topic. Then right before the first task she came to see me and hugged me and I'm sure you all saw her running to get into the tent when I was carried in so that madam Pomphrey could heal me. As I was screaming in pain she ran up and started comforting me, stayed with me when I asked her to…" He trailed off and turned to Hermione. "Why did you stay, Hermione?" He asked suddenly.

"Because you asked me to. Why did you ask?" She countered.

"Because I needed you," he admitted. Hermione was blushing as he turned back to everyone. "So, Hermione stayed with me while Pomphrey when to get Dumbledore because she couldn't do anything to heal me until the salve got all of the venom out of my system. So I'm not sure if it was the venom, the pain, a combination of both, or just plain insanity that made me see what I saw but it changed my view on damn near everything."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "And what was it that you saw?" She asked. "I never knew you saw anything other than me, and everyone else that came in while you were being cared for."

"I didn't," Harry admitted and shrugged. "It was the way you looked I guess. You were surrounded with light and I thought the tears that kept hitting me looked golden in color."

All the girls gushed. "Did you start snogging in the tent?" Ginny asked.

Hermione shook her head. "No Ginny. Almost, but Dumbledore walked in with madam Pomphrey and she started cleaning Harry's wounds and healing him."

"Well then how did you two get together?!" Ginny shrieked.

Harry smiled. "We were walking back from Dumbledore's office, and we talked about when she kissed me last year. I asked her if she had meant to, how she'd feel about me kissing her, and she said that it depended on why. Then we started arguing-"

"We were not arguing," Hermione interrupted. "I was being logical about the fact that there are dozens of girls in this school that would give their arm to be with you, including a ghost, and you were ignoring the facts."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Again, not even half the girls in our house have so much as spoken to me, no one knows me like you do, and Myrtle is creepy!" He fell back against the floor and groaned. "How many bloody times are we going to have this argument?"

Everyone around the couple was giggling or chuckling or just watching with glee as they argued. "You're biased, Harry."

"Fine! I'm biased! I think you're the single most attractive witch alive and no one else compares simply because I'm with you! Will you stop comparing yourself to everyone now? Because if I have to hear about how you feel threatened by Myrtle's offer to let me share her toilet if I died in the chamber of secrets one more time I swear to Merlin I'll jump off the astronomy tower and haunt you until the day you die!"

Hermione pulled Harry back into a sitting position and kissed him softly. "Alright, Alright. Now, I'm heading to bed before you come up with some idea to get us killed, or expelled."

Harry smiled. "Which is worse?" He asked. She rolled her eyes, grabbed Crookshanks as she stood up and bit her thumb at him. "Ouch, ancient 'fuck you', that hurts." He held his hand over his heart as Hermione rolled her eyes and kissed his cheek.

"Good night Harry. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning."

Harry watched as she left, and eventually everyone went up to bed as well. Harry was one of the first to head upstairs after Hermione went up to bed. He couldn't wait to wake up the next morning to presents and his girlfriend and the promise of tomorrow night.


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione's Harry

Author's note: I appreciate all of you, and I do not own Harry Potter. This is going to be a much longer chapter, and the M rating is officially coming into effect. Thank you for all the support, you guys are the reason I haven't given up on this story and it really does mean the world to me.

Chapter Six

Harry woke up that morning to someone jumping on his bed. "Harry!" The feminine voice yelled and tackled him. He opened his eyes to see a very blurry Hermione holding out his glasses with a sweet smile. Harry smiled back and put on his glasses before grabbing Hermione up and pinning her under him. She giggled and kissed his cheek. "Good morning, and merry Christmas Harry."

Harry smirked. "Merry Christmas to you too Hermione, and good morning." He let her sit up. "How did you sleep last night?" He asked thoughtfully.

"Hardly at all, I was too excited for today, and later on tonight…" She bit her lip, her cheeks turning pink. Harry's eyes widened and his eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline.

"Bloody hell, I almost forgot to tell you that champions have to umm… open the ball with their partners for a lack of a better way to put it." Hermione bit her lip harder and Harry smirked. "Scared Granger?" He asked.

"Not in your dreams Potter!" She replied and grabbed his arm. "Let's go, we've got to open presents!" She announced and dragged Harry from his dormitory. Nearly everyone in Gryffindor house was already opening their gifts. Harry and Hermione joined the crowd of their house mates and began searching for their presents.

Harry got a small flying version of the horntail from Hagrid with a scribbled note stating that he believed Harry would want a reminder of his victory. Sirius and Lupin sent him a book filled with defensive magic he could study with Hermione. Dobby sent him a pair of socks that did not match. The left sock was bright red with a pattern of broomsticks while the right one was a similar green to his eyes with snitches all over it. He made a mental note to stop by the kitchens and thank Dobby before continuing to go through his presents. He got the usual sweater and care package from Molly Weasley, and the twins gave him a sneakoscope. But what he was most surprised by and happiest to see was the gift from Hermione, which turned out to be a photo of the two of them in Hagrid's class obviously taken by Collin Creevey, and a snitch with his name carved into it.

When he turned to thank Hermione she had just opened her gift from him and her eyes were welling up with tears. He'd gotten her a golden charm bracelet with charms of the Gryffindor symbol, an H, a book, and a cat's paw along with a book about muggle and magical forms of healing because of a conversation they'd had about how she was fascinated with the subject.

She looked up at him and threw her arms around him without hesitation. Harry caught her as she nearly tackled him and held her close. "Thank you Harry," she said softly. "That was the sweetest and most thoughtful gift I have ever received!"

Everyone put their gifts away and made their way downstairs to eat breakfast. The meal seemed to pass by quickly with constant chatting about the ball that night. Harry had never seen Hermione so affectionate in the time that they had been together. She would hardly leave his side until after lunch when she finally gave him a kiss and hurried up to the girls' dormitories to get ready for the ball. Harry had never understood why women took forever to get ready for a formal event but he didn't think he'd complain about the temporary distance until an hour had passed and he missed her.

He was seated in the common room playing with his snitch as the rest of the guys joked and laughed about how worried they were about finding a date until whoever they asked said yes. Harry probably would have joined in the conversation if he wasn't so distracted by a strange longing to hold Hermione close and kiss her. He missed his girlfriend and they'd only been apart an hour! He'd have been embarrassed if the girl he missed was anyone other than Hermione, but because it was the wild-haired girl he spent so much of his time with, it made sense in his mind. Hermione was always with him and he didn't like being apart from her.

"Hey Harry," Fred said as he sat down beside Harry. "Missing your girlfriend?" He asked.

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "We've always been stuck together, even before we started dating. It feels wrong being apart," he admitted and put the snitch in his pocket. "I'm pathetic," he muttered.

"Nah," George said and put an arm around Harry's shoulders. "It took Fred and I ages to get used to not having Angelina and Alicia with us every minute. Best to distract yourself until you've got her back on your arm tonight." The twins left him sitting on the couch and Harry sighed again. What the bloody hell was happening to him? He was never this dependent! Or was he? He debated the topic with himself as he made his way to his dormitory and started dressing himself.

Hermione was faring better than Harry. Of course, that's because all of her dorm-mates and Ginny were all trying to contribute something to her appearance. Parvarti had invited her sister to get ready in their dorm and they were both styling Hermione's hair, pulling her long wild curls back into a couple pigtails at the back of her head and braiding them together loosely. Ginny was doing her make-up rather expertly for a thirteen year old girl. By the time Hermione looked in the mirror she was astounded. Her eyes were lined boldly with black, her lashes seemed to be far longer, and her lips were a lovely crimson that matched the Gryffindor color and her dress very well.

She blinked back the tears that threatened to spill over and ruin Ginny's expert job and wiggled into her strapless red dress. Ginny loaned her a pair of black heels that she was thankful for, and she cast a cushioning charm on the inside of them so that her feet wouldn't hurt half-way through the night and stood up, waiting for the girl's stamp of approval or announcement that something was missing.

Ginny cocked her head to the side and smiled before asking if Hermione had any jewelry she wanted to wear that night. She thought for half a second and instantly summoned the charm bracelet Harry had gifted to her earlier that day. Ginny nodded in acceptance, and pointed to Lavender. "You're next blondie," the red head declared and everyone sat Lavender down in the chair Hermione had just been in.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the girls' shenanigans and started to go through her jewelry box to see if she had anything else she wanted for the ball. Eventually, she found her late birthday present from her first year when her parents found out her house colors. A pair of gold hoop earrings with a small teardrop ruby hanging from each of them. Excluding Harry's most recent gift the earrings were the single most expensive item she owned. With a deep breath, she put them on carefully and sat down on her bed. She hoped beyond hope that Harry would be impressed, and she was longing to be in his arms again soon.

Ginny sat down beside her only twenty minutes later with a smile on her face. The red head was rather reserved in her appearance but for some reason that fit her tonight. Her hair was curled very nicely and her eyes were bright thanks to the smoky eyeshadow and her lipstick was a bright red that nearly matched her hair. Her dress was long-sleeved crushed velvet in a dark blue color that somehow worked with her skin tone and hair.

"You miss him, don't you?" She asked politely as she checked her aquamarine nails. Hermione nodded and sighed, resting her chin on her hand. "You'll see him soon. We've got another hour and a half before the ball though, you want to help Padma and Parvarti?" She asked with a smile.

Hermione smiled and nodded. "I'd love you," then she looked down at her bare nails. "Afterward, can you help me with my nails?" She asked. The two girls dissolved into laughter. They'd reached an understanding. Ginny accepted that Harry was Hermione's, and Hermione respected the fact that Ginny was finally backing off.

Harry was pacing and checking his watch every couple of minutes. Where the bloody hell was his witch? He'd been without her for hours! They needed to get to the great hall! He missed her! Fred and George were just lounging about, but Neville seemed to be in the same state as Harry while he waited for his date. He was wringing his hands and pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace. Dean was nearly asleep on one of the couches, while Seamus was laughing with Lee Jordan. Ron was standing off to the side picking at the frills on his dress robes and scowling at everyone.

Harry heard a couple doors open and nearly jumped out of his skin. He watched as the twins' girlfriends descended the steps first and were met by their dates picking them up off the steps and carrying them out of the common room bridal style and shouting about how they were off to the celebrations. He rolled his eyes and watched as Lavender made her way down the steps in a nearly see-through black dress with her hair twisted into an intricate up do. Ron hurried to the steps and held out his arm for her to take, which only made the blonde giggle and kiss his cheek as they walked away. The Patil twins came down next, escorted out by Dean and Seamus who were smiling like a couple lost puppies reunited with their owners. Ginny came down next looking rather nice, and Neville hurried to the staircase to hold out his arm the same was Ron did. Ginny smiled and kissed his cheek as she stepped down and they were hurrying out of the portrait hole only a few moments later. Hermione came down last, Harry was sure the moment he saw her that red would be his favorite color for the rest of his life.

Hermione was nervous as she made her way down the staircase. She took deep breath after deep breath until she was finally standing in front of Harry. He seemed as though he'd been petrified until she reached out and grabbed both of his hands. "Why so quiet Harry?" She asked.

He shook his head. "I really thought you couldn't possibly look any more beautiful than you do every day." He seemed to admire every inch of her in that moment and it made Hermione blush. "Apparently I was wrong because you are beyond gorgeous tonight."

He pulled her close and kissed her softly, loving how she felt in his arms. Hermione relaxed in his arms and sighed peacefully. Unfortunately, Lee ruined the moment by clearing his throat. The couple turned to face their house mate and blushed. "The two of you might want to get to the ball before you miss the whole event."

Hermione nodded slowly while biting her lip and Harry quickly led her out of the common room while Lee Jordan laughed himself silly. The couple laughed together as they made their way to the great hall. They were stopped on the way in by McGonagall who was surprisingly smiling. "Hello Mr. Potter and Miss Granger," she greeted them.

"Hello Professor," They answered together. She smiled wider and placed a hand on both their shoulders.

"I wonder if I can have a quick word before the two of you join the other champions and their dates." She asked politely, and after they'd turned to each other they turned back and nodded. McGonagall led them over to one of the changing staircases nearby. "I just want to express how proud I am of the two of you," she admitted. "Miss Granger, you've impressed me from the moment you walked into class your first year, and Mr. Potter I promise that your parents would be so proud of your accomplishments over the past few years." She huffed good-naturedly. "If James were here he would probably never stop bragging about how you made it on to the quidditch team your first year, or about your recent battle with such a dangerous dragon."

Harry couldn't help the smile on his face, and Hermione quickly kissed his cheek as she gripped his hand and arm. McGonagall smiled again and escorted them back to the entrance of the great hall where Cedric, Krum, and Fleur were all waiting with their dates. "Is everyone ready?" the professor asked and was answered with nods. "Wonderful, Cedric I would like for you and Miss Chang to enter first, followed by Mr. Krum with your date, Fleur and your date will follow Krum, Mr. Potter and Miss Granger will enter last." Everyone nodded and began to form a line in the order she had indicated.

Harry bit the inside of his cheek, beyond nervous. Hermione smiled at him and kissed his cheek again. "Relax Harry," she whispered in his ear. "I'm right here with you, we can do this." Harry turned to face her and she smiled. "You beat a dragon, you can open a formal dance." Harry nodded and took a deep breath before facing forward again. The doors opened and his fellow competitors made their way into the great hall with waves and smiles. When Harry and Hermione entered the great hall all of Gryffindor house cheered and whistled. Harry turned to Hermione and smiled before raising both their hands in the air.

The champions and their dance partners took a space in the empty circle the rest of the students were all crowded around. The music began and Harry's panic dissipated as he twirled Hermione around and lifted her in the air. They danced as if they'd spent their entire lives doing so. Eventually everyone else began to join them. Harry couldn't take his eyes off of Hermione and Hermione was sure her face would be frozen in a smile with pink cheeks for the rest of her life. Harry's gaze was addictive and she spent the first half of the night dancing in his arms. When they finally sat down to eat she was having a hard time letting go of his hand.

Surprisingly Ron sat down at their table with Lavender along with Neville and Lavender. "Hey there Harry, Hermione," Neville greeted with a smile. Hermione and Harry smiled and said hello to both Neville and Ginny in return. "Ginny and I saw you on the dancefloor, have you been having fun?" He asked as Ginny kissed his cheek and giggled.

Hermione smiled and nodded. "I'm having tons of fun, Harry's a great dancer!" She exclaimed and kissed his cheek.

Harry chuckled and pulled Hermione into his lap, not caring that it was probably not appropriate. "Best night of my life so far," he admitted. "I'm so glad Hermione agreed to come with me. How's your night going?" Harry asked.

Ginny grinned. "Oh Neville's a great dancer too, and I just can't get enough of how the great hall is made up. It's so much fancier than it usually is on Christmas."

Neville shrugged and smiled when Ginny rested her head on his shoulder. "Tonight has been a lot more fun than I expected. Way better than spending Christmas with my grandmother, just don't tell her I said that." Everyone at the table started laughing. "Ron, Lavender, how are you enjoying yourselves?" Neville asked politely.

Ron gulped but Lavender was smiling. "Ron's been stepping on my feet all night but I've been stepping all over his too. We've been having tons of fun anyway."

Their conversation went on for over an hour. Eventually Ginny pulled Neville back onto the dancefloor claiming that she loved the song that was playing. Hoping to avoid an awkward silence, Hermione pulled Harry away from the table as well and led him out of the great hall.

Harry followed without hesitation even as they approached the forbidden forest. They weaved between the trees expertly, laughing like the happy and carefree couple they tended to be when they were together. They seemed to run for miles until Hermione stopped at a small pond that Harry had never come across in his many wanderings through the forest.

Harry's heart nearly stopped when he caught sight of Hermione there. Her face was bathed in moonlight, her eyes bright with excitement and what Harry hoped was love. She stepped up to him and snaked her arms up his chest, wrapping them behind his neck. Harry wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist and gazed deeply into her warm chocolatey eyes.

Hermione couldn't stop staring into the emeralds that were Harry's eyes. There were few things she knew on instinct and trusted without extreme research, but the expression on his face and the emotion in his eyes convinced her that he truly was hers, and that she was his. She loved him, and probably always would.

"Harry," she whispered. "I love you." She was sure that she loved him. It didn't matter to her that they'd only been dating a short while. What mattered was that he was always saving her, that he never lied to her, and had only ever tried to be there for her. What mattered was that she'd decided she would be his the moment he jumped on that troll's shoulders for her. What mattered to Hermione was that Harry was hers and she was his.

Harry was stunned by Hermione's declaration. But once he thought about it, he mentally shook himself for being so surprised. He loved her too, and he had a feeling that he'd loved her before he knew what it felt like to love anyone. Maybe he felt it when she was lying in the hospital wing petrified. Maybe it was when she hugged him at the end of their first year, or that moment on the train when she fixed his glassed before she knew who he was. There was always something there between them."I love you too Hermione," he admitted and kissed her before she could say anything. He loved her, and she was his. He was more than willing to be anything she wanted for the rest of their lives as long as he could call her his.

Hermione pressed herself against Harry as they kissed with an intensity and passion they'd never allowed themselves to express. Harry moved on instinct, lifting Hermione off her feet. Hermione wrapped her legs around Harry as he gently set her down on the soft grass. It wasn't until Hermione had shoved Harry's robes off of him, leaving the teen wizard in a dress shirt and slacks that they noticed the unicorn drinking from the pond. Perhaps it was the sight of something so pure that broke them out of their haze, but the moment they caught sight of the unicorn Harry sat back on his legs and Hermione propped herself up on her arms.

The majestic beast turned to face the couple and approached them without hesitation. Harry reached out and pat the unicorn's snout. Hermione followed suit as the shimmering creature seemed to hum before stepping back gracefully. It bowed its head and left with a swish of its tail. Harry turned back to Hermione and smiled. She smiled back and took hold of his tie, pulling him back down to her. Harry didn't hesitate, leaning over Hermione to kiss her again.

It seemed to take an eternity for the two of them to be rid of their clothes but when they finally saw one another completely exposed, Harry hesitated. "Are you sure Hermione… we don't have to tonight…"

Hermione smiled and caressed Harry's face softly. "I'm sure Harry, just give me one moment." Her smile never left her face as she took hold of her wand, pointed it to herself and muttered a spell Harry couldn't hear properly. She glowed for a few moments and put down her wand. Harry seemed a bit confused until she quickly explained that she'd cast a contraceptive charm on herself. He blushed considerably until she pulled him back down to her so she could kiss him again. "Scared Potter?" She asked slyly in imitation of him earlier that morning.

"In your dreams Granger," he responded with a smirk before kissing her, despite his legitimate worries.

Harry had never been intimate with anyone and was incredibly nervous. But he fought through his insecurities and forced himself into her tight warmth as he kissed her, hoping it would be enough of a distraction from the pain he knew girls felt their first time.

Hermione felt a slight discomfort at being filled so completely and a painful tearing sensation that faded rather quickly. After a few moments the discomfort faded as well and she urged him to continue. They moved at a slow pace, meeting one another thrust for thrust. Harry could hardly think buried to the hilt in Hermione and Hermione was struggling to keep from screaming out her pleasure.

It seemed to go on for hours but turned out to maybe only be half of one when they finally came together, gasping out one another's names and collapsing on the grass. They lay together with Hermione's head on Harry's chest as they calmed themselves and enjoyed their company.

Eventually Harry sat up and pulled Hermione with him. She was smiling and biting her lip, worried that Harry hadn't enjoyed himself as much as she had. But one look into his eyes and she knew he had. They redressed themselves, smiling and quickly looking away whenever one of them caught the other looking.

They walked back to the castle hand in hand, smiling as if they'd never get another opportunity to smile again. When Ginny caught sight of them walking back into the great hall she asked Neville to excuse her and walked straight up to them. "Hi Harry, hey Hermione," she greeted politely with a smiled plastered on her face. Harry smiled back, but Hermione bit her lip. "I've been looking everywhere for you Hermione, I wanted to talk to you about something. Would you mind if I steal your girlfriend for a little while Harry?" She asked.

Harry's smile didn't waver. "Sure, but I've got to have a few more dances with my date tonight, so make sure she stays in one piece." The three teens laughed at Harry's joke and Harry kissed Hermione chastely before Ginny pulled her away.

Hermione was sure that Ginny could tell what had happened and she was sure she was about to be interrogated when the redhead pulled her away from the crowd in the great hall. "You and Harry have been gone over an hour, where did the two of you run off to and what did you do while you were there?" Ginny asked with her arms crossed over her chest.

Hermione bit her lip again. "Promise it'll stay between us?" Hermione asked.

Ginny scoffed. "I'm not the gossip in our House Hermione, Lavender is. I won't say a word, I promise." Hermione nodded and took a deep breath.

"I didn't want Harry and I to be stuck at the table with Ron and Lavender so we left the great hall to get some air, and then we started running through the forbidden forest, and we got to this pond. I told him I loved him, he told me he loved me, we started snogging, and then we were approached by a unicorn. It allowed us to pet it before it left."

Ginny's eyes widened. "That's amazing, Unicorns never show up like that.

Hermione nodded, biting her lip harder. "When the unicorn left we continued snogging and then… we shagged."

Ginny put both her hands over her mouth. It took her several moments to recover but the moment she did her eyes began to sparkle. "What was it like? What was Harry like?"

Hermione smiled and sighed happily. "It was like a dream. It hurt a bit at first but it passed very quickly, and after that it was just mind-blowing. I've never experienced anything like it." She wrapped her arms around herself and her smile widened.

Harry still felt as if he were floating on a cloud when Cedric walked up. "Hey Harry," He said with a small wave. Harry nodded his acknowledgement of Cedric's presence. "I never really thanked you for warning me about the dragons."

Harry waved his hand dismissively. "No need to thank me, I'm sure you would have done the same for me."

"Which is what I'm trying to do," Cedric admitted and sighed. "Does your egg wail and screech when you open it?" He asked. Harry nodded. "You haven't figured it out have you?" Harry shook his head.

"How is this helping me Cedric?" Harry asked.

"I figured out my egg. I can't tell you what the clue is, but I can tell you how I figured it out." Harry's eyes widened and he nodded. "Take your egg to the prefects' bathroom on the fifth floor, it's the fourth door on the left from the statue of Boris the Bewildered." Harry cocked an eyebrow and Cedric groaned. "Trust me, take your egg and mull things over in the hot water. That's how I figured it out. The password is pine fresh."

Cedric winked and hurried away before Harry could ask anything else of him. Luckily he wasn't confused or irritated for much longer. Hermione showed up seemingly out of nowhere with a smile on her face and a small twig in her hair which he plucked out carefully. The moment Hermione caught sight of it her face turned pink and they began to laugh together. Harry decided he would worry about the egg soon, but not that night. Not while he had Hermione in his arms telling him how much she loved him.


	7. Chapter 7

Hermione's Harry

Author's Note: Hey, just wanted to throw in a heads-up for anyone that is curious as to how I go about telling this crazy story of mine. Some things will be cannon, and at a few points I may copy something near exactly from the book or movie. I use ideas from both versions because in my opinion some things were done better in the movies and some things were done better in the books. Again, I do not own Harry Potter and I appreciate all the support from everyone, but I do have something I'd like to say.

Recently I got a review that I felt intensely insulted by. Now, I want everyone to know that I am always willing to accept constructive criticism and even encourage it. Hell, if you want to make a suggestion I may use it and thank you dearly for the idea! But to all that dislike my writing, do me a favor, keep your negative and non-constructive opinions to yourself and stop reading my story. Constructive criticism makes anyone better at whatever craft they may be practicing whether it is negative or positive and both kinds are welcomed from me with open arms. Insulting my writing because you simply don't like it is rude and I would appreciate it if you kept your negativity to yourself because no one likes that.

Thank you to all of my supportive readers, I do appreciate you all, and if you have a suggestion for this story I'd be more than willing to try finding a place for your ideas in my story. Keep in mind I probably won't be able to do that with every idea though because I pretty much know where this story is going.

Chapter 7

"Step aside Wormtail so I can give our guest a proper greeting," A flash of green light and a wicked cackle echoed in Harry's head and he sat up in bed slick with sweat, breathing heavily.

When he had finally calmed himself, Harry slipped out of bed and made his way downstairs to the common room. He was surprised to find Hermione there already. Hermione looked up when she heard someone approaching and smiled when she saw that it was Harry. But after a moment of seeing that he was in a dreadful state she hurried to him and took hold of his hands.

He felt incredibly cold, his eyes were bloodshot and his skin was deathly pale. He looked as though he were ready to collapse. "Harry, what's wrong?" She asked. "Was it that nightmare again?"

Harry sighed and nodded, pulling her with him to his chair and pulling her onto his legs once he'd sat down. "I don't think it's a nervous reaction to the tournament like Dumbledore says. I think this is something a lot worse."

Hermione nodded and rested her head against Harry's chest, listening to his erratic heartbeat. Though he looked calm and steady, he was far from it. "You're probably right, Harry. But it would be best not to dwell on it for now. The tournament is very dangerous and nerve-wracking and if you don't focus you'll end up worse off than Professor Moody."

Harry chuckled at the comparison and Hermione smiled to herself, thrilled that she was able to distract him from his troubles. Harry always had far too much on his shoulders in Hermione's opinion and her one hope when they first got together was that she would be helpful to him, rather than another problem that took up so much of his time and energy.

Harry held Hermione close and sighed in contentment. "Why are you down here?" He asked softly.

Hermione shrugged. "I couldn't sleep. My mind kept drifting back to earlier tonight when we were in the forest." Harry smiled at her admission and held her closer. "I hope we do that again soon," she seemed to whisper to herself.

Harry felt past of himself harden slightly at her whispered comment. "You're not the only one that feels that way Mione." They shared a smile and cuddled up to one another as sleep claimed them swiftly.

After a few hours had passed and the sun was beginning to rise, Ginny came down the stairs to find everyone's favorite couple asleep in Harry's chair. She rolled her eyes and thought to herself that they needed to start sleeping in their beds or they were doomed.

Ginny thought for maybe half a minute before she made her way to the pair and nudged Harry's shoulder. He awoke almost instantly and nearly jumped out of the chair in surprise. Ginny smiled at his reaction and he took a deep breath. Hermione snuggled closer against his body and tightened her hold on him. "Ron ate my homework," she muttered sleepily.

Ginny giggled. "He probably would, he eats anything. The two of you should probably get to your own dorms before people get suspicious and start hounding you with questions." Harry nodded and started to gently shake Hermione until she looked up at him with drowsy eyes. Ginny walked back up to her dorm yawning.

"It's time to get up Mione," Harry said softly. She shook her head and pressed her face to his chest in what he assumed was an attempt to hide herself. "Mione, it's time to get up and be awake."

"Don't wanna!" She protested and hugged him tighter. "Hold me!"

Harry laughed at her childish shenanigans and held her tighter, letting the brunette pout and protest all she wanted until she finally let go of him and stretched out her arms and legs. "Are you ready to be a human being?" Harry asked in a joking fashion.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "No, I wanna drag you up to my dorm room after all the other girls have left and cuddle with you all day and night. I'm not looking forward to all of the gossip."

Harry quirked an eyebrow. "What gossip? What could have possibly happened in the last twenty-four hours that's gossip worthy?" He asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well everyone is going to be comparing Christmas presents for at least a week, now that the Yule ball has been attended and is over they'll wanted to talk about it for a month or longer rehashing every single detail. And of course a lot of girls probably noticed that we were gone for over an hour last night. Then there's the usual critiques of every guy they come in contact with, constantly being updated. Lavender usually gives us the dirtier details."

Harry was partially confused and partially terrified. "People actually noticed that we weren't there?" He asked.

Hermione nodded. "That's what Ginny wanted to talk to me about. She demanded to know where we'd disappeared to and what we had done. I did tell her because she promised to keep it between the two of us, please don't be mad?" She asked as she bit her lip. Harry sighed. "I didn't give many details, honest. Girls talk about this kind of stuff all the time, and I've never fit in with girls my age."

Harry nodded slowly. "Alright, I'm not mad. Just promise you won't go spreading around the school that I was a lousy shag and I'll deal." Hermione kissed him almost as a reward for understanding.

"Thanks Harry," she said sweetly. "Want to go for a walk on the grounds today?" She asked. He smiled and began to nod before he dropped his gaze to the floor and bit the inside of his cheek.

"I would but I finally found a way to listen to the egg possibly and I want to figure it out as quickly as possible so I won't run out of time planning what to do." Hermione smiled and nodded.

"I'm proud of you for showing a bit more initiative. Do you want some help?" She asked with a flirtatious smile that Harry regarded with a chaste kiss.

"I appreciate the offer Mione, but I'd prefer to figure it out on my own. Maybe I'll impress you that way," he added slyly at her expression of disappointment. Her eyes brightened for a few moments and she nodded before kissing his cheek and standing up.

"I can respect that, if you figure it out quickly and still have time to spare I'll be outside by the lake," she told him and made her way upstairs to get an hour or so of more sleep. Harry was not ashamed to admit that he watched her backside until she was no longer in view and groaned in disappointment when he could no longer see her.

He shook his head and sighed, hoping he wouldn't be so desperate to be with her every waking moment in the near future. It was so debilitating constantly thinking about Hermione and sex and sex with Hermione and how much he missed her and when they'd shag next and where it would be and only a minute after she'd gone upstairs he felt as if he were going insane. "I hate this so much, and I hate that I love it, and I can't take this! Merlin's beard will something please distract me!"

It was almost as if someone hit a switch in his brain and he instantly started thinking about the egg and the weird conversation he'd had with Cedric about the prefects' bathroom. Because he didn't want to trust him for no reason and end up looking like a fool, he did his best imitation of Hermione by analyzing every reason Cedric would have to embarrass him, and every reason he would want to help him. When the reasons for Cedric to help him was a far longer list, Harry rolled his eyes and sighed. "Alright, then why would taking the egg with me for a bloody bath help me figure it out?"

He thought about it for over an hour and it took a weird recent memory to connect the dots. Krum diving into the black lake while everyone else was going into Hogsmead. Why on earth would he do that on purpose in the middle of winter? What was so important to Krum about diving into the lake? Was he just trying to show off? Get hypothermia? Or was the water important in deciphering the clue?

He groaned and trudged up to the boys' dormitories to retrieve his egg and go for a bath when he ran into Ron. "Hey Ron," he said offhandedly. Ron was glaring at him, which Harry ignored. Ron was always glaring at him anymore.

"Did you shag Hermione last night?" Ron asked. Harry almost dropped the egg after fishing it out of his trunk, but he managed to catch it before it hit the ground.

"Why would you ask me that?" Harry asked as he held the egg to his chest.

"Did you not notice how long you were gone?" Ron asked standing up. "And when you two came back there was a twig in her hair and both of you had these expressions on your faces like something amazing just happened. Like Hermione when she's received all outstanding grades, or you when you won the Quidditch Cup last year." Harry gulped. "I'm not blind Potter, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out what you two had been doing."

Harry glared back at Ron. "Maybe you're right Weasley, but it only takes one jealous red head to make the wrong assumption for all hell to break loose. Maybe you should watch what you say before you end up in a situation I can't get you out of."

Ron drew his wand just as Harry pressed his against Ron's jaw. "You wouldn't!" Ron shouted. "You don't have the guts to curse me!" Everyone began to wake up around the pair but no one came between them, and Harry's focus was trained on Ron.

"Or really? Try me!" Harry yelled back. "So what if I did shag Hermione last night? Its none of your business to judge either of us on something you don't even have confirmation happened! Stay out of my life Weasley!" Ron nearly pissed himself when he felt the entire room shudder. Harry's accidental magic was something to be admired, and feared. He finally began to lower his wand, and Ron took a deep breath. "Stupify!" Harry roared and Ron when flying into the wall behind him. "That'll teach you a lesson," he muttered as he put away his wand. When he turned around all of his dorm mates were clapping and cheering him on.

Dean was the only one brave enough to actually ask. "Harry, did you actually shag Granger last night or did you guys just leave to get some air?"

Harry smirked. "Ten points to Gryffindor," he said quietly and the dorm erupted into cheers again. Harry started to feel guilty before he remembered that Hermione hadn't been secretive either, and all Harry's friends knew was that they had shagged. Didn't know where, didn't know what led up to it, what they did after, or any detail of what they were like when they were intimate with each other. Not to mention that this was a phrase they all used when they'd shagged someone. It was just a Gryffindor guy thing as far as he knew and it wasn't like it would leave their dormitory. So, he shrugged his shoulders with his egg in his hand and followed Cedric's directions to the prefects' bathroom.

After a quick utterance of 'pine fresh' and a quiet shutting of the door, he turned to face the tub, only to find that it could be better described as an empty rectangular swimming pool. He looked around himself in amazement as he took in the white marble everywhere, about a hundred golden taps lining the pool's edges, all with a different colored jewel. What really surprised him most was the diving board! Then of course there were long white linen curtains hung at the windows, a large pile of fluffy white towels in a corner, and a single golden framed painting on the wall featuring a blonde mermaid fast asleep on a rock with her long hair hanging in front of her face. Throughout Harry's appraisal of the room he decided becoming a prefect would be worth it if he got to use this bathroom regularly.

But his delight did not entirely distract him from why he was actually there. He tried to think of why Cedric would tell him to come here, but few ideas came to mind. It wasn't until an obscure and seemingly meaningless memory popped into his head that he began to think it wasn't a waste of time to be there. Harry had believed that Krum was a raving lunatic to jump into the black lake near the end of December and risk Hypothermia. But was there an actual reason for it or was he just stupid?

Harry wracked his brain trying to figure out what he was missing and how to connect the dots because he was sure that there was some kind of bloody connection. It was rather sudden that Harry remembered that Krum took his egg into the lake with him and it hadn't been opened when he was above water.

He nodded and decided to follow the examples he had. He started turning on the taps and was stunned to find that they were not only different types of bubbles and foam mixed with water, each did something distinctly different. One tap gushed pink and blue bubbles the size of footballs, another poured ice-white foam so thick Harry was sure it would have supported his weight if he were willing to test his theory. His favorite tap was a jet of water that bounced off the surface of the water in large arcs.

He swam for a while once the pool was filled, just trying to enjoy himself. But still the image of Krum jumping into the black lake with his egg and Cedric's insistence upon Harry coming to the prefects' bathroom to solve the egg's clue wouldn't give him any peace. He picked up the egg from the side of the tub where he'd left his towel and was about to open it when he heard a familiar voice.

"I'd try putting it in the water if I were you." Harry nearly dropped his egg as he turned to face the voice, which belonged to Moaning Myrtle. She was a glum looking ghost girl in Harry's opinion, and that opinion was shared among all that had met her through the years.

"Myrtle!" Harry near squeaked, completely caught off guard by her sudden appearance when he was expecting privacy. "I'm not dressed!"

The foam was incredibly dense, which made it nearly impossible for the annoying ghost girl to see anything but Harry's head, neck, and his shoulders. But Harry was sure she'd been there longer.

She sighed almost dreamily, it seemed as though her crush on Harry was enough to override her usual mopey demeanor temporarily. "I closed my eyes when you were undressing, didn't open them back up until I heard a splash." She blinked at him through her thick glasses. "You haven't come to see me in ages."

Harry gulped, sure that this was not good. "I got told off for going in there and figured I shouldn't go back… and I recently started dating Hermione."

Myrtle crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, cat girl…" she murmured with her glum expression returning. "What's that fur ball have that I don't?" She cried sadly.

Harry, annoyed now, shrugged his shoulders. "A pulse maybe?" He suggested rudely. "Will you give me some bloody privacy Myrtle?"

The ghost huffed and faded through a wall, which caused Harry to sigh in relief. He wasn't sure if he should tell Hermione about that particular encounter, but he'd be sure to tell the guys that they needed to look out for Moaning Myrtle the peeping ghost.

Once she was gone he tried to think of what to do next when he remembered her first statement. I'd try putting it in the water, she'd said. Krum didn't open his egg until he'd dove into the lake. Cedric suggested he go to the prefects' bath _… I'd try putting it in the water…_

 _Here goes nothing,_ Harry thought and lowered the egg under the surface of the water. Once it was completely submerged he opened the egg. Instead of the shrieking and screeching he could only hear a muffled gurgled song. _Okay, I guess I need to be under the water too…_ he thought to himself. Without hesitation, he took a deep breath and sank down into the pool.

Come seek us where our voices sound…

We cannot sing above the ground…

And while you're looking ponder this…

We've taken what you're sorely miss…

An hour long you'll have to look…

And to recover what we took…

But past an hour the prospect's black…

Too late, it's gone, it won't come back…

Harry surfaced sputtering and coughing, hating the damn riddle he was stuck with. He swam a few more laps in the pool, attempting to decipher the meaning of the words and occasionally stopping to listen again until pieces of it began to make sense. It took almost an hour to figure out the majority.

It was obvious that he'd be diving into the black lake as it was the only large body of water close enough to the school for the event to take place. After staring at the sleeping mermaid for about ten minutes he decided that they were the creatures that had taken what he'd miss, and he only had an hour to recover whatever it was that had been stolen, or it would be gone for good.

He got out of the pool when his skin was turning prune-like and dressed himself quickly before heading toward the lake, where Hermione had told him she would be waiting if he had time for her later. And here he thought the worst of it was over having faced a murderous dragon that almost killed him. Now he'd have to survive at the bottom of the lake, which he was sure was where he'd have to go, for an hour, to retrieve whatever was taken from him, and he couldn't even figure out what they could possibly take that would be worth diving into the lake to get!

"Hey Hermione," he said softly as he approached her while trying to keep his voice from shaking. It didn't work though, she looked up at him and immediately knew something was wrong. Crookshanks was curled up at her feet as she pushed herself up off the ground.

"What's wrong Harry? Did you figure out the clue?" she asked as she took hold of his left hand. Harry put the egg on the grass and pulled Hermione into a hug.

"I'm going to drown, Hermione. The task is in the lake, there are all manner of creatures including merpeople, and I have to retrieve some unknown item and I don't know what to do!" He admitted and allowed Hermione to comfort him. She ran her fingers over his back softly and held him close as he shook with fear.

He'd never learned how to really swim. His cousin had gotten lessons and he'd somewhat taught himself by watching the other children swim, but he'd never gotten to practice. The pool in the prefects' bathroom was one thing, but the lake was huge! It was filled with unfriendly creatures that would make things even more difficult than they already were, and on top of everything he'd have to learn how to breathe under water for an hour!

Eventually he calmed down enough to explain every last one of his worries to Hermione, who offered him a smile and assured him that they would figure out what to do together. It was at that point that they began walking to the library hand in hand, discussing every way they could think of to breathe under water.

"Bloody hell this task is impossible!" Harry finally huffed and slammed shut the book he was reading. Madam Pince shushed him rather viciously and he sighed. "Hermione, whoever is trying to kill me with this tournament is about to accomplish their goal. I'll never make it underwater for an hour. Even if we can find something that will allow me to breathe underwater, it won't make me an excellent swimmer."

Hermione sighed and shut her own book. "You're right, we're looking in the wrong places…" She admitted and rested her head on Harry's shoulders. "Do you think Dobby would have any ideas?" she asked hopelessly.

Before either of them could think of a response to that the little elf appeared out of nowhere. "Did Harry Potter's Miss Grangey call Dobby?" He asked as he took a bow.

Hermione giggled. "Thank you for coming Dobby, but Harry and I are just a bit stuck on a rather dangerous problem."

Dobby's eyes widened. "Can Dobby help? Dobby wants to help if he can be!" The elf nearly squeaked.

Harry shrugged. "Can you think of anything that will help me breathe under water for an hour, Dobby?" He asked woefully. "Hermione and I have been searching for hours and we haven't found anything remotely useful."

Dobby nodded near violently. "Dobby knows a way! Eating gillyweed gives gills and fins. Breathing under water is possible and the fins make swimming better."

Harry felt as though he'd been clubbed over the head, and his girlfriend held an expression on her face conveying a similar feeling. "Do you know where to get it? How long the effect lasts? Any other useful information?" Hermione asked.

Again, Dobby nodded. "It lasts for an hour Miss Grangey, and Dobby can get the gillyweed." He seemed to be beaming with positivity. "Can Dobby help by getting gillyweed?" He asked as he wrung his hands together.

Harry nodded as he hugged the elf. "You're a life saver Dobby, and yes it would be a huge help if you could get us gillyweed, but there's no rush. Just get make sure I've got it before the second task. You know when that is, right?" Harry asked as he released the over excited elf.

"Yes Harry Potter sir, Dobby knows."

Hermione thanked the elf, as did Harry and Dobby bowed before disappearing with a crack. Harry smiled and pulled Hermione onto his lap. "Well, the most difficult part of the task is officially handled. Would you still like to go for a walk on the grounds?" Hermione looked out the window to see the sun slowly setting.

"It's getting late Harry," she said and bit her lip.

Harry shrugged. "We can take the cloak, go back to that pond we were at last night, relax for a couple of hours and come back for a private dinner in the kitchens. How does that sound?" Harry asked of Hermione, giving her a seductive smirk.

"Mr. Potter, I'm amazed at your boldness," Hermione admonished jokingly. "Can we go now?" She asked in a whisper.


	8. Chapter 8

Hermione's Harry

Author's Note: Hello again, I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm kind of writing out of order with the story because the fourth movie is missing so much and I haven't had the time to sit down and read the book in a while, so please forgive, I'm trying to get back on the right track with the story's timeline. I don't own Harry Potter, I won't pretend to, and I appreciate all of your support. By the way, I saw the correct spelling for Pomfrey. Wanted to explain real quick that my computer was arguing with me so I just used the incorrect spelling so that I could breeze through the couple chapters. I finally didn't have any extreme writer's block. Thank you for pointing it out, it's officially fixed! Yay!

Chapter 8

"That foul loathsome slug in hideous robes!" Hermione cried as she read the latest of Rita Skeeter's near fictional articles. This one depicted Hagrid as some sort of vicious creature with a sick desire to murder all of his students.

Harry had only just given her the newspaper that Malfoy had passed to him when they were in a Care of Magical Creatures class without Hagrid. "I know Hermione, I'm getting tired of it too. First she writes about my eyes swimming with the ghosts of my past, now she's giving Hagrid a hard time because of his parentage. He can't help being half giant, and he's proven that he's gentle, he just has a weird obsession with creatures that are a little tougher than most."

Hermione nodded. "I'm pretty sure the only reason he's so fascinated with creatures like Buckbeak and Aragog and Norbert are because they're tough enough for him. He's a lot stronger than he means to be and the creatures he cares for can take that strength."

"I agree," Harry said and wrapped an arm around Hermione as they walked toward Hogsmead village. "We should visit him after our date."

Hermione nodded as she leaned herself against Harry. "Yeah, we should. I hate to think of Hagrid suffering. Maybe we'll run into Skeeter and give her a piece of our minds." Harry laughed at Hermione's assumption and they continued on until they reached the Three Broomsticks.

Unfortunately they did run into Skeeter just as they entered the pub. Though Hermione had only been half serious when she mentioned that they should give Rita Skeeter a piece of their minds, Harry was completely serious as he marched straight to her and threw her article about Hagrid in her face.

The blonde woman let out an offended cry and vanished the newspaper. When she caught sight of Harry she grinned. "Harry!" she said, beaming. "How lovely! Why don't you come and join-"

"I wouldn't come near you with a ten foot broomstick," Harry stated coldly and crossed his arms over his chest. "Why did you do this to Hagrid?!" He hollered. Several people turned their heads to watch Harry confront the woman behind the stories they loved to read. Hermione was gripping Harry's arm for dear life, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't do something stupid.

Rita Skeeter raised a heavily penciled eyebrow and her smile brightened. "Our readers have a right to the truth, Harry. I am merely doing my job." Hermione bit her lip, knowing that Harry hated when people spoke to him this way.

"Who cares if he's half-giant?" He nearly roared. "There is nothing wrong with Hagrid!" The whole pub had gone silent. Madam Rosmerta watched with unblinking eyes from behind the bar, blissfully unaware that the flagon she was filling with mead was overflowing.

Rita's smile flickered into a cruel smirk before she pulled her lips back into a smile. She snapped open her handbag, pulled out her Quick-Quotes Quill and said very sweetly, "How about giving me an interview about the Hagrid you know Harry? All about your unlikely friendship and your unknown reasons behind it. Would you say that he's a parental replacement for you?"

Several people gasped as Hermione threw herself in front of Harry and dumped the goblet full of fire whiskey in front of Skeeter over the blonde's head. "You're a vile and disgusting woman!" She screamed. Harry grabbed hold of both of Hermione's arms in order to hold her back. "You don't care do you? You'll do anything for a story! You don't care who you hurt or insult! First you spread lies about Harry and now you're trying to destroy Hagrid!"

Rita stood up, brandishing her unnaturally long pink nails. Harry pulled Hermione back several steps. "She isn't worth it love," he whispered in Hermione's ear, but it seemed as though Rita could hear it.

"Oh, are you two involved? Is that why this violent young witch is so protective of you, Harry?" She asked politely.

Hermione sighed and turned away from the woman in front of her to let Harry hold her close. "I'm not answering any of your questions, Skeeter." Harry's voice was cold. "All I will say is that if you truly go about your job attempting to bring the truth to light, you should know what you're writing is true before you publish it, and everything you've published this year is full of lies."

Skeeter's lips twitched, but her eyes darkened. "You should warn your little girlfriend not to make powerful enemies."

Harry shrugged. "Wouldn't be fair to her if I did that, I've been disregarding that lesson in life from a very young age. Good bye Skeeter," Harry said with a curt nod and led Hermione out of the pub.

It took over an hour for Hermione to stop ranting and raving about how cruel and ugly and pathetic Rita Skeeter was. But once she finally calmed down, Harry turned to look behind them and saw that they were being followed by a dog holding a newspaper in his mouth. This enormous dog seemed ragged and tired but far too happy. "Padfoot?" Harry asked tentatively. The dog wagged its tail and bowed its head as it bounded forward.

Harry and Hermione shared a look before nodding and following the dog. The giant dog led them into the shrieking shack, where they found Buckbeak waiting with Remus Lupin. Their professor from last year looked up with a smile and pulled both teenagers into a hug as the dog morphed into Sirius.

"Uncle Padfoot, Uncle Moony, it's great to see you!" Harry cried as he held on to his unofficial uncles. Hermione choked out a good natured laugh and hugged both the men and her boyfriend. When they finally released each other, Sirius leaned up against the wall and Remus stood by Buckbeak to pat his feathers. Harry wrapped his arms around Hermione as she stood slightly to his side and somewhat in front of him. "What's the occasion?" Harry asked.

Remus continued to beam while Sirius shrugged. "Can't a godfather come to visit his godson without there being some reason behind it?" He asked.

Harry thought for a moment. "No," he concluded with a smile. "Not with us Padfoot, you're still on the run from wizarding law and I'm involved in a dangerous tournament." Sirius chuckled and nodded.

"You've got a great sense of humor pup, just like your father. You're right, we do have news." Sirius gave Remus a look and took a deep breath. "Remus and I have been staying in my parent's old house and Kreacher, my grumpy house elf has been bringing us the Prophet every day. These odd disappearances and deaths are far too suspicious to ignore as far as I'm concerned. Remus feels the same way, and we both felt the need to warn you two."

Harry nodded. "You think Voldemort's trying to find a way to come back, don't you?" He asked.

Remus nodded. "Yes, Sirius and I both believe he is attempting to come back. The attack at the Quidditch World Cup, your involvement in the tournament, the disappearances, and that dream you wrote to Sirius about are all adding up to Voldemort returning."

Harry took a deep breath. "There's one other factor… the only one that I needed to start believing that my parents' murderer was coming back." Sirius raised an eyebrow and Remus narrowed his eyes. "Last year, the day we officially met," Harry said and paused to look at Sirius. "Before Hermione, Ron and I left the castle I overheard a legitimate prophecy."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "If it was something that old bat said I'm not hearing it." It was clear Hermione still resented Trelawney.

Harry sighed. "It wasn't like when we're in class listening to her prattle on about nonsense Hermione. It seemed as though something had completely taken over her. Her voice got all weird and she seemed to shake and stare straight ahead, not even blinking. She's not a legitimate seer but she is a prophetess."

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest. "I'll believe you because you have some actual sense. But I don't trust her bullshit predictions."

Sirius smiled and nudged Remus who chuckled softly. "Alright," Harry said to regain their attention. "I can't remember the exact wording but the basic meaning of the prophecy was that Voldemort's servant would break free and return to him in order to help him return."

Sirius nodded. "Scabbers was finally revealed to be Peter Pettigrew, and he got away from us. Voldemort's servant was freed, and there's only one place he'd be welcomed after the truth had been brought to light."

"You're right Harry, Voldemort will be back. There's likely nothing we can do to stop it, but hopefully we can stop him from doing any further damage once he does return."

"I agree," Hermione said softly. "But just because we're resigned to Voldemort coming back does not mean that we are going to wait until he does to do something about it." She turned around to face Harry and put her finger to his chest. "We have the rest of this month and all of February to work on school and our own project. You already know what you're going to do for the next task, and since we're ahead in our studies right now we're going to put our extra time to good use!"

Harry grinned. "More trips to the Forbidden Forest and broom cupboards?" He asked slyly. Sirius burst into uncontrollable laughter and Remus let out a chuckle.

Hermione placed both her hands on her hips. "Well… yes. But I was also thinking that we should start working on the Animagus transformation. You never know how useful having an animal form could be when fighting against Voldemort." Harry nodded and wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist loosely. "So, we're going to keep ahead on our school work, work on our private project and enjoy one another's company, aren't we Harry?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded immediately. "Absolutely!" He agreed.

They heard someone clearing their throat and Hermione turned to see Remus smiling and Sirius smirking. "The two of you are just like James and Lily," Harry's godfather stated. "James couldn't seem to focus on anything other than Lily unless she was practically ordering him around."

Harry groaned. "Bloody hell, I'm doomed. We've only been together two months and I'm already incapable of focusing!" Hermione giggled. Harry narrowed his eyes. "Oh, you think that's funny? When we're not practically attached at the hip you're all I can bloody think about! Hmm, let's see, what goes through Harry's head all day? Hermione, sex, sex with Hermione, and Hermione!" He paused to catch his breath and groaned again, leaning back against the wall. "It's beyond debilitating."

Hermione giggled again. "I'm glad I'm constantly on your mind, Harry." Remus was staring at the ceiling as he attempted to ignore Harry's outburst. Sirius was laughing again, until Hermione shot the dark-haired man a glare to shut him up.

"That's a bloody understatement, Mione," Harry muttered and pulled her back to him while he continued to face his "uncles".

They all sat together, reminiscing about Harry's parents, talking about how the teenage couple present got together, the Yule Ball, Rita Skeeter's bogus stories and their worry for Hagrid.

Eventually the sun began to set and the "adults" urged Harry and Hermione to go back up to the castle. Harry shrugged his shoulders and approached Buckbeak who instantly bowed in recognition of Harry and let out an odd sound of happiness when Harry hugged the hippogriff. "I've you missed you, arrogant creature you are, you're just such great company."

Hermione rolled her eyes and pulled Harry out of the shrieking shack as she waved to her ex professor and Harry's godfather. They quickly began to make their way back up to the castle and Hermione suggested that they start reading the book Sirius and Remus sent them that night in the library. Harry agreed immediately and told her to wait for him in their spot while he went and grabbed the book from his dormitory.

Hermione watched Harry disappear when he took a turn down the corridor before sighing and walking into the library. It was strange to miss him the moment she could no longer see him and it scared her. What if she and Harry didn't work out? Would she be able to handle not having him with her nearly every moment? When would she finally adjust to being with him so she could think straight?

"Hey mudblood," a familiar voice called from a nearby table. Hermione rolled her eyes and continued down her path toward her own table. Well… it wasn't hers, but it was her favorite table at the back of the library and no one else ever sat there. She didn't stop walking until the owner of the voice grabbed her forearm. "I was talking to you mudblood, still haven't learned to respect your superiors, have you?" Malfoy asked as she turned her head to face him.

"Let go of me Malfoy," she said calmly. "I've already hit you once, I'll do it again if you don't learn to back off."

The blond pureblood merely smirked and Hermione's expression turned to one of disgust. "Careful mudblood, I'm not above paying you back for that. I'm your superior, you should never have gotten away with laying a hand on me."

Hermione stomped on his foot but he didn't release her. "Let go of me Malfoy!" She shouted. Malfoy pulled her closer to him with a disgusting smirk, and Hermione ripped her arm out of his grip, sure that a bruise would be forming within a couple of days.

Malfoy threw back his fist as if to hit her, but someone else caught his balled up fingers from behind and twisted his arm behind his back. Malfoy let out a rather unmanly yelp and turned to face his attacker, which happened to be Harry. The green-eyed wizard released Malfoy, shoving him back toward a table. Once Malfoy got up from the ground, he pulled his wand. "You'll pay for that Potter," he murmured under his breath.

Harry shook his head and drew his own wand. "I'll teach you not to touch my witch," Harry stated calmly as he glared daggers at Malfoy.

Hermione was in shock, unable to process what was happening. Harry was never like this. He wasn't one to get into fights or threaten anyone. He was the calmer of the two of them… most of the time. The last time she'd seen that look in his eyes they'd been in the shrieking shack with Pettigrew, Sirius, Remus, Snape and Ron. He didn't even look at Rita Skeeter that way. It was in that moment that Hermione realized Harry truly hated Malfoy.

Neither wizard cast a spell as they circled one another. A crowd began to form around them and cheer. Hermione was relieved; there was no way madam Pince would allow this to continue, the old and usually grouchy librarian was always determined to keep things calm, quiet, and orderly in her domain. Unfortunately madam Pince did not get there in time to stop it.

Draco cast a dark cutting curse at Harry that reopened his wounds from fighting the horntail, though thankfully they were not as deep as before, and Harry lashed out at Draco with something that had the blond dangling in the air by his ankle until he was able to perform the counter curse. Once Malfoy was back on his feet the two of them were throwing spells at one another and throwing up shields and dueling as if they were masters testing each other rather than a couple of school boys fighting for the sake of fighting.

It didn't end until Malfoy flew across the library and landed on top of a bookshelf that collapsed underneath him. Harry finally took a deep breath and returned his wand to his robes. Hermione grabbed his hand and began to pull him out of the library and toward the hospital wing.

Though he would have preferred to tackle Malfoy and mangle his face, Harry allowed Hermione to tug him into the hospital wing and asked madam Pomfrey to take care of him. It wasn't until he'd been healed and Hermione had escorted him back to the common room that Hermione said one word to him. "What on earth were you thinking Harry?!" She yelled as they stepped through the portrait hole. Everyone turned to face the couple with interest.

"I was thinking that my girlfriend was about to be attacked by a Slytherin with a bad attitude! I have every right to stand up for you, or for myself and I did so." He crossed his arms over his chest and winced.

"I could have handled it and you know it! Malfoy isn't that scary, I've punched him before and watched as he scurried away to lick his wounds! You were there when it happened!"

Harry grabbed her arm gently. "He put his hands on you, and I saw the look on your face. I saw the fear in your eyes, and I lost it. When he moved to punch you I acted on instinct, and I'd think you would thank me for protecting you."

Hermione huffed and jerked her arm away from him. "Fine," she muttered and slapped his arm. "That's for stepping in when it wasn't necessary." She grabbed him by his robes and kissed him softly. "And that is for protecting me. Now give me that damn book." Harry smirked and pulled the gifted book from his bag. Hermione took it from his hands and gave him a chaste kiss. "Good night," she said and began to walk up the stairs to her dorm.

"It's not even eight!" Harry called from behind her.

"You need to rest!" She hollered back from behind her shoulder and left him behind.

Harry groaned and kicked the wall before heading up to his own dormitory. Everyone in the common room hurried out to find some information pertaining to what Harry Potter and Hermione Granger had argued about.


	9. Chapter 9

Hermione's Harry

Author's Note: There will be a discussion about abuse in this chapter so be ready for it. I'm sorry I need to break everyone's hearts. I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter Nine

Hermione opened her eyes slowly to see Hedwig flapping her wings above her. Although it was not an expected sight, Hermione did not panic. She smiled and sat up slowly, gesturing to Hedwig that she should settle on her bed side table. The owl seemed to nod her head and held out her leg once she landed. Hermione took the envelope from Hedwig's leg gently and pulled out the parchment inside.

Dearest Hermione,

I know, you'll likely laugh at me for the cheesy way I'm doing this, but I'm going to anyway. I have something special planned for us today, figured you deserved a nice romantic valentine's day for putting up with my "stubborn, self-sacrificing, hero-playing self" as you like to say. Meet me down by the lake, no arguments. I'm trying to be a good kind of spontaneous.

All my love, (as if I'd have any left)

Harry.

Hermione shook her head with a smile and bit her lip as she folded the parchment back up. "Harry, you stubborn git, this better be a damn good surprise or I'll break your nose!" She stated and hopped out of bed. "I don't know how you put up with him Hedwig," she said to the owl.

Hedwig clicked her beak and flew out the window. Crookshanks watched the snowy owl with interest until it was out of sight, then went back to lying on his human's bed. Hermione giggled at her familiar's behavior and gave the cat his favorite toy to play with, a large toy mouse stuffed with cat nip. Crookshanks' nostrils flared and he tackled the mouse, swatting it into the air and batting it around between his paws as he played.

Hermione occupied her time with getting ready for her day-long date with her annoyingly wonderful boyfriend. She put her hair up in a ponytail, pulled on a burgundy tank-top and slipped into a pair of dark skinny jeans and black knee-high boots. She wasn't sure why but since she began dating Harry, Hermione just felt less eager to cover herself with baggy clothes and more inclined to stop fighting with her hair.

She gave a quick wave to Crookshanks, who wasn't paying attention, and hurried down the stairs. Unfortunately she was distracted by something rather odd when she got down to the common room. Ron was lying on one of the couches, bleeding from a gash on the side of his head and a split lip. Lavender was sitting with his head on her lap, while Dean and Seamus talked with each other. But the moment Lavender caught sight of Hermione she lifted Ron's head off of her, stood up and rushed to Hermione, slapping her hard enough to leave a bruise. "You need to control your boyfriend!" She shouted at the brunette.

Before she could lash out at Hermione again Neville grabbed hold of both Lavender's arms and held her back. "You had no right to do that Lavender, Hermione has nothing to do with this and Ron started it!"

Hermione rubbed the side of her face and scowled at Lavender before balling up her fist and nearly breaking the blonde's jaw. "That's for attacking me unprovoked, slag!" Hermione shouted. "Now someone tell me why I just got assaulted by this stupid bitch before you all end up on my list!" Ron moved to sit up and explain but she hit him with the full body bind. "Preferably, someone who won't be biased and will tell me the truth." Her eyes were a hardened stare that finally cracked Seamus.

"Alright, alright, I'll bleeding tell you. Ron saw Harry sneak out of the dorm last night and he confronted him this morning about it when Harry sent off a letter. Harry told him to stay out of other people's business, Ron punched him and pulled his wand, Harry sent him flying. Didn't pick up his wand, didn't throw him physically, just sent him flying backward into the wall. He held Ron there and told him that if he didn't learn to mind his business, he'd get into a lot more trouble in the future." When Seamus was finally done explaining he crossed his arms over his chest in a protective sort of way. "I don't blame him by the way, if I'd been confronted like that and was able to do what Harry did I'd have done the same."

Hermione nodded and looked down at Ron. "I'm not going to scold Harry for this. I'm not going to bring it up to him. I'm going down to the lake with Harry and I am going to spend the entire day with him. I suggest you see Madam Pomfrey and that you take your slag of a girlfriend with you so she can get her jaw fixed. Do not approach either of us for the rest of the day." She looked up at everyone else in the room and crossed her arms over her chest. "No one is to release him until I've been gone at least five minutes."

No one argued, no one stood in her way. Something entirely new had happened in Gryffindor house. They didn't just have a king, they had a queen.

Hermione didn't wait to question why her demands were being treated as orders, nor did she stop to consider what it meant. As a true mark of a Queen she walked out of her domain with dignity to find her King. And she did find him waiting for her down by the lake, along with his back pack. He was pulling grass out of the ground and placing each blade on the surface of the water gently, trying to make them float instead of sink. Hermione smiled at him and sat down beside her boyfriend, placing her hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong Harry?" She asked softly.

Harry sighed. He could tell from the tone of her voice that she already knew why he was upset. "They told you, didn't they?" Harry asked of her and turned to face his girlfriend. He caught sight of a red mark forming on her face and scowled. "Who did it?"

Hermione sighed and lay back on the grass. "Lavender," she admitted. "She should be in the hospital wing now so that she can get her jaw healed." She looked up at Harry with a smile. "I told you I can take care of myself."

Harry smiled and lay down beside Hermione, pulling her into his arms. "As I've said before Hermione, I know you can take care of yourself. I just take over when I'm around and have the opportunity to protect you." His girlfriend laughed in his arms and kissed his chin. "Shit, I almost forgot!" Harry explained rather suddenly and stood up quickly. "We've got to go, we're spending the day by that pond you found."

Hermione quirked an eyebrow while looking up at Harry. He helped her to her feet and they began to make their way to their new favorite spot. Once they got there, Harry put his back pack down and pulled out the book about Animagi. "I know how frustrated you've been that we still haven't started the process," he admitted when he caught sight of her expression of curiosity. "I figured we could start it today, since it'll be such an important project for the two of us."

The smile on Hermione's face was enough for Harry to know that he hadn't failed to make her happy. Being tackled and smothered with chaste kisses all over his face was an unexpected but highly enjoyable bonus. "You. Are. The. Greatest. Boyfriend. Ever." Every word was punctuated with a kiss and she pulled the book out of his hands, flipping to the right page. "Alright, it says we need to brew two different potions…" She bit her lip. "One to begin the transition, and give us the ability to seek out links to our animal form."

Harry quirked an eyebrow and sat beside his girlfriend to see read with her. "The second is to bind the links to us and to finish the change." Harry's eyes widened. "The first potion looks incredibly complex, it'll take us three months to brew it."

Hermione nodded. "You're right, it will. We'll have to dedicate the rest of this school year to the first potion, and we have to wait until we've gathered at least seven links to begin the second potion. I just wish it told us what they mean by links."

Harry smirked and put an arm around Hermione. "We have until the end of the year to figure out what it means Mione. And if we can't understand it on our own we'll ask Sirius and Remus what it means. Now how do we get these ingredients?" He asked as he looked at the directions for making the potion. "Please tell me we won't need to raid Snape's personal stores again, he'd kill us."

Hermione shook her head with a smile. "We won't have to raid Snape's stores, we'll get what we need from Diagon Alley next time we go to Hogsmead. There's a bookshop in the village I like to go to that's connected to the floo network. And I'm sure we could find all of this in Diagon Alley."

Harry's face lit up in a smile. "Then we'll go after the task and start the potion as soon as possible." He kissed her forehead and lay back on the grass, pulling her with him. "I love you."

Hermione blushed and lay her head against Harry's chest. "I love you too, Harry."

They lay there for hours talking about everything under the sun, until suddenly Harry sat up sighing. Hermione sat up with him and gave him a confused look. "What's wrong Harry?" She asked and placed her hand over his. "What's bothering you?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "There's something I've been rather torn about telling you. The only reason I want to tell you is because I don't want there to be any secrets between us, but I've kept this to myself for so long… I don't know where to begin." He turned to face his girlfriend looking more wounded and vulnerable than she could ever remember seeing him.

"Harry, you know you can trust me," she said softly.

Harry shook his head. "It's not about trust Hermione, I trust you with everything. If it weren't for you I'd probably be dead by now," he said bitterly. "I'm not so sure I wouldn't have welcomed it before we met." His shocking admission tore at his girlfriend's heartstrings and she bit her lip, determined not to assume anything. "I don't just dislike the Dursleys Mione, I don't feel more at home here simply because my magic isn't accepted by them. I hate them. I hate everything about my living relatives and the fact that I share blood with them sickens me for many reasons."

He wiped at his eyes, ashamed that he'd shed a single tear because of them. They were nothing, just cruel, sadistic muggles with a hatred for their nephew that they'd never explained. He'd never done anything to them. What was his crime? Being born?

"Harry… they haven't… abused you… have they?" Hermione asked tentatively. She waited for an answer, which came in a slight nod from Harry and a deep exhalation of breath.

"It stopped the summer after my first year… almost happened again when I blew up Aunt Marge. They haven't touched me since then." He turned to face his girlfriend with glistening eyes. "I don't want you to think differently of me, Mione."

Hermione nodded and pulled Harry back to her. "I'll never think of you negatively Harry. You're my knight in shining armor, my hero, my best friend, and my boyfriend. But that doesn't mean you have to be strong every moment of every day. We're a two person team, and we take turns being strong for each other." Harry looked up at his smiling girlfriend with wonder. "Let me be strong for you from time to time, and I'll let you be strong for me. Can we agree on that?" Hermione asked softly.

Harry smiled and nodded. "I can agree to that for you, Hermione."

He sat back up and pulled his girlfriend to him, kissing her gently. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her, how much he trusted her, how she felt more like home than Hogwarts did, but he had the feeling she already knew.

Slowly, their kisses turned from gentle to passionate and insistent. Hermione never would have thought before her relationship with Harry started that they would be so frequently intimate with one another but she was by no means complaining.

After their first time she'd gone straight to madam Pomfrey for a birth control potion, and the older woman merely smiled and told her to come back every month for another dose. Apparently she was not the only girl that went to her for that purpose, and because Poppy could see the look of worry on Hermione's face she assured her that she was not in any trouble, and that every adult in their school would prefer to make sure that their students were safe and responsible than end up in a situation they were not prepared for.

So, here she was with Harry in their new favorite place, doing their new favorite thing. But once Hermione had gotten Harry' shirt off, he hesitated and sat back on his knees. Hermione cocked an eyebrow and propped herself up on her elbows. "Something wrong?" She asked. It seemed as though that was her question of the day.

Harry shook his head and grabbed his wand. "No, nothing wrong. I'm just tired of hiding…" he ran a hand through his hair. "I was terrified of letting anyone see my back for the longest time, so I went to the library my first year to find something that would hide scars in order to be more comfortable around everyone. I found a long-term charm used to hide anything that the caster wanted to hide." He shrugged and tapped his back with his wand. "I don't want to hide from you." Hermione nodded and as she sat up he turned his back to her.

The moment she caught sight of the lasting proof of his abuse… she wanted to scream and cry. But she didn't, she promised to be strong for Harry when he needed it, and she could tell he needed it now. She came up behind him and traced over each of the angry marks with her fingers. Most of them looked like indents in his skin made by buckles on belts. It enraged her to think of how that happened, and she wanted to do the same to the Dursleys.

Thankfully there weren't many marks, and most of them seemed to have faded to a less noticeable form, but she could still see why he would want to hide from his fellow classmates. Normal families don't do this, and he already stood out enough.

She shook her head and kissed his shoulder, throwing her arms around him. "You don't have to tell me any more today if you don't want to, and I'm grateful that you were willing to be honest with me Harry." She kissed his neck softly. "I love you just the same as I always have, and I'll never stop loving you." Harry turned to face her, and smiled at the look on her face.

"I love you too Mione," he said softly and pushed her back on the grass gently, pulling her tank top off over her head. She shuddered from the cold and pulled Harry over her, kissing him lovingly. Harry returned her passionate kiss with as much fervor as they continued to undress one another.

They lost track of the time as they lay together in the aftermath of their blissful intimacy, talking about any topic they hadn't already discussed.

Harry laughed as Hermione told a rather amusing story from her childhood. "So my parents, not knowing about magic because they're muggles, thought that our house must have been haunted because my all of my stuffed animals were dancing about in the air above my bed while I read the original version of Beauty and the Beast."

Hermione gasped for air, seemingly having forgotten how to breathe during her laughter over Harry's favorite story. "It was Dudley's eleventh birthday, and my aunt and uncle couldn't hand me off to Mrs. Figg, so they brought me along to the zoo. We went to the reptile house, and all hell broke loose. Dudley and Piers found the biggest snake there, but because it was trying to sleep they moved on to something else. I ended up talking to the snake, and when Dudley pushed me aside and onto the ground to see what the snake was doing, the glass vanished. He and Piers jumped back screaming, the snake brushed up against their ankles playfully and slithered out of the reptile house. Before he was gone I heard a voice saying, Brazil here I come, thanks amigo. It was so funny, I'd never seen Dudley and Piers gibber so much in my life."

"Oh no, I'm sure I first loved you when you fixed my glasses on the train. You didn't even know who I was and you decided to help me, and I think that spoke volumes to me."

"The first time I started to like you was when I saw you sitting with Ron, smiling and laughing, you looked as if it were a new concept to you and wanted to soak up all of the experience that you could. But I was sure I loved you when you jumped on the troll to save me."

Their conversation went on for hours, laughing about personal experiences, sharing parts of themselves they'd yet to share with anyone else, swimming together in the pond, rejoicing in one another's company in their own little paradise. But eventually the sun began to set and dinner would be served soon. So, they regretfully redressed themselves, and hurried back up to the castle, stopping to snog each other near senseless every few minutes.

When they sat down in the great hall, Ron and Lavender glared at them, but made no move to do anything. The Weasley twins sat across from the couple, accompanied by their girlfriends. Ginny sat beside Hermione and Seamus sat next to Harry, with Dean on the other side of Seamus. Suddenly they were most people's favorite Gryffindors and they didn't bother to figure out why.

"So, what did you two do all day?" Ginny asked Hermione.

"We were out by the pond, we talked most of the time read together a bit." Hermione shrugged her shoulders, but her eyes were mischievous.

Harry laughed, "She told me about some of her accidental magic. It was a lot more innocent and fun than mine was when I was younger." Fred and George were intrigued by this statement, so he rehashed all of his magical mishaps, which he'd already told Hermione earlier. All about turning his teacher's wig blue, regrowing his hair when his Aunt Petunia sheered it off (that particular story made Hermione run a hand through her boyfriend's unruly hair and kiss his cheek, saying that if his horrid aunt came near his hair with a pair of scissors again she'd slap her silly), shrinking a revolting sweater of Dudley's that he hated so he wouldn't have to wear it, and the incident with the snake at the zoo, which was everyone's favorite.

"Blimey Harry," Fred finally said through his laughter. "Wanna be the third Weasley prankster? You've certainly got the history to justify it!"

Harry shrugged. "You'd be surprised by some of my qualifications, guys. The Marauders you love so much? Prongs was my dad."

Fred and George paled considerably and took one look at each other before turning back and uttering a single word together. "Wicked…" They all began to laugh before they thought of another question to ask. "How do you know?"

"Professor Lupin was Moony. He told me last year when he confiscated the map, and when he handed it back."

Of course, dinner did come to an end, and when everyone returned to their common room it wasn't long before everyone began to go back up to bed. Harry kissed Hermione good night before she stretched her arms up and yawned, walking all the way up to her dorm. Harry made his way up to his own dorm only a short time later and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. It's a shame his dreams were not as pleasant as his day…

"Master… perhaps we could bring him here earlier," Wormtail suggested to the bundle on the chair. "Aren't we leaving too much to chance with our current plan?"

As the man that had given Harry's parents to Voldemort writhed on the floor in obvious pain, a familiar voice spoke up angrily. "My spy has made it impossible for my plan to fail. It is the only way to get him away from the school without rousing suspicion! Do not insult me again Wormtail!"

Harry shot up in bed shaking, but quickly shook himself and lay back down. Whatever Voldemort was planning wouldn't work, because nothing could get Harry to leave to school, and once he was back at the Dursleys for the summer he'd be safe, no matter how much he hated it there, the wards on the Dursley household kept him safe from Voldemort. Still, he couldn't stop himself from worrying that maybe the spy Voldemort had mentioned was the one who'd put his name in the goblet of fire. What if the goal of the tournament wasn't to kill him, but to lead him to Voldemort?


	10. Chapter 10

Hermione's Harry

Author's Note: Here it is, the beginning of the animagus transformation and the second task. Who's going to be Harry's hostage? How quickly will he retrieve his hostage? Will anyone get hurt? Or maybe killed? What stupidity have I put together this time? Well, I suppose you'll see

Also, I'd like to mention that I have been reading all of my reviews, and I still appreciate all of the support. I recently read one posted by someone nice enough to share an opinion on Hermione's reaction to Harry attempting to protect her from Malfoy. I would like to express that I feel the exact same way, and I was actually using that fight to create a way to evolve Hermione, which I am finishing in this chapter. Thank you so much for the time you took to share how you felt, and I just want to say again that I feel the exact same way, and I'd likely break up with any guy that didn't act like a man and stand up for me, and I'm a full on feminist taking Women's Studies in College (also known as Gender, Race, and Class). That was simply an opportunity to give Hermione a bit of an inner conflict and add more to my story.

Chapter 10

"Back again you two?" Myrtle asked from her toilet as Hermione stirred the contents of the cauldron in the middle of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. "Come to gloat about how you have Harry, cat girl?" She prodded at Hermione.

Harry rolled his eyes. "If you're not going to make polite conversation, maybe you should go back to the prefects' bathroom and continue your hobby of stalking." Myrtle huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I don't stalk!" She cried as she let out a sob and dived back into her toilet.

Hermione looked up at Harry with a smile and he crossed his own arms over his chest. "That's not a little sensitive, she's just completely lost it. Moaning Myrtle, the peeping ghost of Hogwarts."

"Oh really?" She asked and stood up, leaning against the sinks. "How do you know that she peeps?"

Harry paled and scratched the back of his neck. "Cedric told me to go to the prefects' bathroom with my egg to figure out the clue… and I did… and she showed up and told me to put it under the water… I freaked and snapped at her until she left."

Hermione's eyes widened and she crossed her legs at her ankles. "So she saw you naked?" She asked.

Harry shrugged. "No idea, the bubbles were so thick I doubt anyone could see through them, and she said that she didn't look until she heard a splash, but she could have been lying. Hence why I told her I was dating you and demanded that she give me privacy."

Hermione grinned and Harry took several steps toward her. "How sweet, you told off a gloomy ghost with a crush to stay faithful to me." Harry laughed and placed his hands on the edge of the sink she was leaning against.

"Of course I did Mione, you're my girlfriend and I love you." The brunette wrapped her arms about his neck and kissed him lovingly.

When they broke apart to breathe she glanced behind her. "So… this is really the entrance to the chamber of secrets?" She asked. Harry blushed and nodded. "And the basilisk is still down there… decaying as we speak…" He nodded again. "I want to see it."

He took several steps back and nearly knocked over their cauldron. "Mione, you can't possibly be serious. Do you know how dangerous that was?"

She nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. "The danger is gone now, isn't it? You killed the monster, the diary is gone, and there's nothing else down there that poses a threat, is there?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded and sighed. "If you're really going to refuse to drop it, we can go. Tomorrow night, after the second task."

Hermione pulled him back to her by the collar of his shirt. "I just want to know what I missed. Every year I've been involved in a dangerous adventure with you, except our second year. Besides… I could use a bit of closure, don't you think? That giant snake took away a month of my life, a month of time that I could have spent harping on you to do your homework.

Harry smirked and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. "Alright, alright, I understand. As I said, we'll go tomorrow night after the second task. Tonight I'd prefer to focus on our potion and each other. Can you agree to that?" He asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes and nodded. "Yes, I can agree to that Harry. You're more fun to focus on anyway."

They continued their playful banter as they sat back down next to the cauldron and worked together on the first potion necessary for the animagus transformation. By the time they walked out of Myrtle's bathroom under the cloak Hermione was sure that the process would take double the necessary time if they couldn't keep their hands to themselves in the future.

It was late when they finally made it back to Gryffindor tower, and once they were back in their common room they immediately cuddled up together in the big chair by the fireplace. Hermione pulled out a book to read and Harry occasionally read over her shoulder as he watched her react to the words in front of her. Almost an hour after they came back, the twins walked up with smiles on their faces.

"Sorry to bother you darling love birds-"

"But McGonagall and Dumbledore said they need to see you Hermione."

The couple looked up at the twins together. "Just Hermione?" Harry asked and they nodded. Hermione turned to Harry and bit her lip, obviously worried she'd done something wrong. Harry shook his head with a smile. "Will you quit worrying Hermione? They probably just want to tell you that you're likely going to be a prefect next year."

Hermione narrowed her eyes and Harry and kissed his cheek. "You're probably wrong but that's sweet of you to assume." She turned to the twins. "Do you know what they want to talk to me about?" She asked.

Fred shook his head and George shrugged. "All we know is that you're not in any trouble."

Harry nodded. "Why are you two delivering the message?" He asked out of curiosity.

Both twins' grins returned. "Oh… we got caught helping you out, Harry." Harry raised an eyebrow and George laughed. "Our baby brother decided he was going to try and attack you while you were asleep so we temporarily trapped his wand with a potion of our own invention that's designed to redirect magic at the caster. He's still in the hospital wing attempting to get his favorite appendage returned to its proper size."

Harry's eyes widened and Hermione burst into a fit of giggles. "Okay then, I'm guessing McGonagall decided to make you my designated escorts to the headmaster's office?" She asked between laughs.

Fred and George nodded, holding out their hands. "And we'll be perfect gentlemen, cross our hearts and hope to die."

Harry quirked an eyebrow and smirked as he stood up with Hermione and gave her a quick kiss. "Just don't flirt with my witch and you won't have to die at all," Harry said with a laugh. Hermione hit his arm and hugged him tightly before looping her arm through Fred's.

"Not a chance that'll happen Harry-"

"We've already got girlfriends-"

"Not that Hermione isn't wonderful of course."

The small group left through the portrait hole, laughing themselves silly. Harry smiled as the portrait swung back into place and sat back down in his chair. He picked up the book she left behind, which happened to be Hogwarts, A History. He shook his head with a smile and picked up where she left off. It couldn't hurt to read his girlfriend's favorite book while he waited for her to come back, right?

Unfortunately, he fell asleep an hour later and did not wake up until eight in the morning. Once he saw what time it was he began to panic. Hermione couldn't have come back while he was asleep because she would have woken him up the moment she returned, and if she hadn't come back it could only mean that she was somewhere else that may not be pleasant.

A thought crept into his mind that he attempted to ignore and push aside. _We've taken what you'll sorely miss…_ He shook his head, telling himself over and over that Dumbledore wouldn't do that. His headmaster wouldn't hide his girlfriend at the bottom of the black lake… would he?

 _We've taken what you'll sorely miss…_

"Dobby!" Harry called with a shaking voice. The elf appeared in an instant holding out the gillyweed and shuffling his feet. "Dobby, do you know where Mione is?" He asked.

Dobby nodded. "Dobby is knowing, Harry Potter sir. Harry Potter's Miss Grangey is in the black lake." The elf's legs began to shake with fear.

Harry nodded and took the gillyweed from Dobby. "I have to go," he said quickly and hugged the elf. "Thank you for everything Dobby, you're one of the greatest friends I've ever had." The teenage wizard released Dobby and ran upstairs to dress himself for the task. He took one look around the dormitory before slipping the gillyweed into his pocket and running down to the great hall.

He seemed to move robotically through the rest of the morning as he ate and made his way to the black lake with the rest of the students. _Hermione's in the lake,_ he kept telling himself silently. _Hermione's in the lake. She needs me. Hermione's in the lake._

He took his place with his fellow competitors, all dressed in their swim suits and ready to dive into the lake and save a hostage. Did the others know that they had to save a person instead of retrieve an unknown object? Was Hermione at least safe under the surface of the water? Would he find her in one piece or ripped apart by a bunch of creatures that didn't take to having a human invading their lake?

Finally, Dumbledore stepped forward. Harry turned to him with an expression that showed just how much pain and anger he felt. Dumbledore could see the question burning within the boy, _how could you take her from me_? All the elderly wizard could do was offer an apologetic smile. "Welcome to the second task of the Triwizard Tournament!" Dumbledore announced to the crowd, his voice magnified overwhelmingly. "Something has been taken from each of our champions, and they will have to navigate through our black lake to retrieve what has been stolen. They have only one hour to retrieve their treasure."

Harry stuck the gillyweed in his mouth and chewed it into nothingness. He jumped into the lake with his fellow competitors when the word "Begin!" was shouted out. When he hit the water he felt his neck and found that he had gills, and kicked his legs to find that his feet were webbed and much longer. It took only a couple moments for him to come to grips with what Dobby told him would happen, and he was off looking for Hermione.

He felt as though he'd been wandering for forever when he finally heard the song again. By that time he'd already seen Fleur attacked by grindylows and had nearly been attacked himself. But once he heard that song he shot forward like a bullet from a gun. The sight in front of him was something he hoped he'd never come in contact with again. Hermione, along with Cho, Fleur's younger sister by the looks of it, and the Durmstrang girl that Krum had taken to the Yule Ball all looked dead. They were each tied to a rock by one ankle and simply bobbed to the movement of the water. They were obviously in the middle of the merpeople's city because there had to be at least twenty more of the half-human half-fish creatures nearby.

He shook himself mentally and swam up to Hermione. He placed both his hands on her face and sighed, praying he'd never see her like this again, it reminded him too much of his visits to see her while she was petrified. Without another moment of hesitation he untied her and began to pull her up to the surface of the water.

Hermione couldn't see anything, she couldn't breathe, nor did she need to. All that was there was feeling, and when she felt Harry's hands she wished she could smile and lean into his touch. Spending the night in the lake instead of in his arms was one of the most unpleasant things she'd ever experienced. She was thrilled of course when they broke the surface of the water and she could finally move again.

Harry was struggling to bring them both to the wooden boards they needed to get to. She looked down to see a grindylow pulling on his ankle. Without hesitation she grabbed his wand out of his hand and shot a spell at the creature that was hindering her boyfriend. They made it back rather quickly after that. Once they were seated on a bench with several towels and blankets wrapped around them Harry pulled her into a tight embrace that nearly hurt her incredibly sensitive skin, but she didn't care one bit.

She held on to him as if her life depended upon it. "You did it, Harry," she said in an effort to comfort him. "You found me, and from the looks of it we're the first ones back."

Harry shook his head. "I don't care about that, Mione. I could have lost you," he whispered in her ear and kissed her neck softly. "You know my life doesn't matter to me, but you're a much different story. I can't imagine being without you again."

He let go of her, holding his girlfriend at arm's length so he could gaze into her eyes. She was his world, he couldn't lose her. Hermione felt a good kind of odd feeling at being looked at by Harry. He seemed to be memorizing every detail of her appearance as if it were the first or last time he was seeing her. Then he quirked an eyebrow and picked something out of her hair which turned out to be a rather large and ugly bug.

"That's weird…" she said as he dropped it onto the wooden boards. "Beetles aren't active in water, are they?" She asked.

Harry shrugged. "Not my area of expertise," he said with a smile and pulled her back to him. It was clear he was not yet sure she was completely safe, and didn't want to give her the opportunity to be hurt again. Hermione would have thought it was adorable if she weren't being nearly crushed.

"Harry," she gasped out. "I promise I'm okay, and if you let go of me I promise we'll visit our pond tonight and wait until tomorrow night to go to the chamber."

Harry loosened his grip on her. "Can we just make new and more positive memories in the chamber tonight?" He asked, whispering in her ear again. "Best way to insult Slytherin, a half-blood shagging his muggle born girlfriend in the chamber of secrets."

Though it was rather ridiculous a thought, Hermione couldn't help but agree and laugh about it with her boyfriend. "Okay Harry, we'll insult Slytherin tonight, but only if you let me breathe."

Only a few moments after their conversation was concluded, the other two champions returned with their hostages while Fleur desperately tried to dive back into the water. She was saved the embarrassment only a minute or two later when little Gabrielle was sent up to the surface of the lake and swam all the way to safety. The moment the little girl was on the wooden boards Fleur took hold of her sister and embraced her, crying and berating herself.

Eventually Fleur was calmed down by her sister and headmistress. Dumbledore, after conferring with the merpeople, came back to the other champions and announced that Harry came in first place, with Cedric in second, Krum in third, and Fleur in fourth.

Harry didn't care the slightest bit that he'd come in first place. What he cared about was the fact that he'd been lead to believe his girlfriend would disappear after an hour, and that she was safe and sound in his arms at last. He was still shaken up as she led him back to the castle, and she even brought him all the way up to his dormitory, worried that he wouldn't make it on his own in his current state.

When she moved to leave, Harry took hold of her hand and shook his head. "Please stay," he said softly and pulled her into a hug. "I thought I was going to lose you. Please don't leave me."

Hermione had never seen Harry like this. She'd seen him angry, full of hate, shy, sweet, loving, and overwhelmingly caring. She'd never seen him quite this vulnerable, even when he'd been honest with her about the abuse the Dursleys inflicted on him. He seemed completely lost, so she nodded and lay down beside him, allowing Harry to pull his blankets over them both and to wrap his arms around her.

Harry wasn't sure how to handle the events of the day. Sure, he'd made a joke about insulting Slytherin, but it was only in an effort to hide how he was truly feeling. He trusted Hermione, she wouldn't judge him for needing her that night. She would understand, and even if she didn't she would try. That was one of the things he loved most about Hermione. She knew him better than anyone and was always willing to learn more in an effort to help or simply play a larger part in his life. She'd shown just how much she loved him.

Both concluded that tonight Hermione needed to be strong for Harry. He hadn't known she was safer than she had appeared to be. He hadn't known that it wasn't possible for him to lose her this way. Now that she was safe, not only was he having a hard time wrapping his head around that fact, he was finally allowing himself to feel everything that he hadn't been able to take when he was too busy waiting for the task to begin and too busy attempting to save her. He didn't just love Hermione, he was completely in love with her and could not imagine spending another minute without her, let alone the rest of his life. As far as he was concerned none of the teachers in his school were getting any sympathy from him or forgiveness for a long time, if ever.

For once, Harry managed to sleep peacefully while Hermione was the one plagued with nightmares. Her mind seemed to have created a reversed version of what happened in the lake, and in the library with Malfoy. Instead of Harry saving her she was saving him and nearly failing both times. By the time she woke up she had a new-found understanding for why Harry was so protective of her. Just as she couldn't bear to see him hurt, he probably couldn't either. He was constantly stepping in to protect her not because he believed her to be weaker, but because she meant as much to him as he meant to her.

Harry woke shortly after Hermione and smiled when he saw that she was still lying in bed with him. It was morning, but the Sun had yet to rise. Eager to keep everyone from freaking out, Harry threw his cloak over Hermione after giving her a kiss and turned over in bed to enjoy his last hour or so of possible sleep.

Hermione carefully made her way through the dormitory and the common room until she was able to climb into her own bed. Sleep never came though, and she passed the hour she had thinking of how she would talk to Harry about her nightmare. Now that she'd finally found an understanding for his previous actions it didn't seem fair in her eyes not to apologize to Harry for the way she treated him when he dueled Malfoy.

Eventually she gave up trying to sleep and found herself showering first out of her dorm mates and making her way down the stairs and into the common room with Crookshanks at her feet. Harry was already sitting in his favorite chair with a book in his hands when she made it to the bottom of the stairs. He looked up at her with a smile, which faltered when he caught the look of uneasiness on her face.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" He asked.

Hermione looked around and noticed the few people that were already in their common room for the morning. She shook her head and took hold of his hand. "Can we talk privately? I'm not angry about anything, I promise. I just need to talk to you about something that I don't want everyone to hear."

Harry nodded slowly and followed her out the portrait hole. "Are you going to talk to me now?" He asked as they walked through the corridors making their way to the great hall slowly.

Hermione nodded and bit her lip. "Yeah," she said softly. "I wanted to apologize for how I behaved after Malfoy attacked me and you stepped in." Harry stopped and turned to her in order to tell her that she had nothing to apologize for but she shook her head and put a finger to his lips. "Harry, last night I had a nightmare about us in that situation again, but with me in your shoes and you in mine. I understand now, honestly. You didn't step in and defend me because you felt I was weaker, you did it because you would hate to see me hurt. I would have done the same thing, and it was wrong of me to assume something so wrong about you. For that I apologize, but I am still demanding that you not simply take over in the future if I have it under control. I need to know for myself that I can handle the situations thrown at me, and though I appreciate your protective nature I don't want anyone to think I need a knight in shining armor to save me every five minutes."

Harry nodded slowly and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. "I'll do my best to let you fight your own battles as long as you don't argue with me for stepping in when I find it necessary. We're equals, and we are strong for each other."

Hermione nodded in agreement and kissed him softly, running her hands up his chest and grabbing his shirt to pull her boyfriend closer. Harry ran one of his hands up her back, tangling his fingers through her hair and kissing her back passionately.

He didn't know why, but every time he kissed Hermione while they were alone together he couldn't seem to control himself. He ended up pushing her against a wall and kissing her with a fierceness she alone seemed able to bring out in him. Maybe it was because he loved her and because he'd shared so much of himself with her that he had difficulties keeping his cool.

Hermione didn't seem to mind how intense their snogging had gotten that moment, but she certainly did not want to get caught by a staff member while in such a compromising position. She pushed Harry back softly, and after smirking at him flirtatiously she laced her fingers through his and led him to Myrtle's Bathroom.

"Why are we in here, Mione?" Harry asked breathlessly as he pushed her back against the sinks and kissed her neck. Hermione whimpered, unsure how she felt about him figuring out her weak spot. She just couldn't resist anyone being anywhere near her neck.

She wrapped her legs around him and bit her lip as he softly nipped at her neck. "We didn't go to the Chamber last night… I still want to…"

Harry grumbled but pulled her away from the sinks before giving her a quick kiss. "Are you sure Mione?" He asked and peered deep into her eyes, hoping to find doubt or hesitance lingering in her gaze. There was no such thing, only a deep longing to discover something new.

"I'm sure Harry," she said with a clear determination. "You were there alone, and I want to know what I missed. We can't go back to the final chamber where you faced off with Quirell, and last year we went back in time together. This is the only thing I've missed that I can still share with you."

Harry nodded slowly and sighed before letting her out of his embrace and simply holding on to her hand. He took a deep breath and stared at the snake engraved on the faucet in front of it. He imagined it as a real serpent, moving and hissing. _Open…_ He hissed.

Hermione watched Harry with interest. She hadn't heard him speak Parseltongue in two years, and it intrigued her. Sure, he'd done it during the first task but she couldn't hear him, and hadn't realized he'd done it until he told her that he did. Somehow she'd forgotten how it sounded to hear Harry that odd language that so many witches and wizards considered evil.

Rather suddenly she saw the sinks all move out from each other and watched as the one in front of them sank into the floor, replacing the tile in front of them and revealing a huge hole. She took a deep breath.

"You jumped into that?" She asked, her voice shaking.

Harry chuckled and nodded. "I'll bet you're thrilled you didn't come with me now."

She smacked his arm and turned back to the hole, gulping. "Summon your broom," she said in a whisper. Harry quirked an eyebrow. "I'll deal with it if I've got you to hold on to and don't have to just jump into a hole devoid of light."

Harry nodded and summoned his broom with a sigh. He didn't like the idea of taking her down the Chamber of Secrets. He'd almost died in there… he'd almost lost her to the monster that had called the chamber home.

Before he could muster the courage to try talking her out of it again, his broom showed up. He mounted it quickly, Hermione following suit almost reluctantly. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and hid her face against his back. Harry smiled and rolled his eyes good-naturedly before taking off down the tunnel. They landed together easily and Hermione instantly hopped off the broom when their feet touched mostly solid ground.

He'd almost forgotten that the floor was nothing but bone. He lit up his wand and took in the sight of the snake skin they'd found before and the rocks that Ron had moved away after they'd fallen and separated the two preteens two years ago. Harry repressed a shudder.

So many memories, so much pain, he wasn't sure he wanted to continue. But one look at Hermione and he suppressed the urge to force her back on his Firebolt and fly back up to the bathroom they'd just been in. She needed this, she needed closure, and she needed this experience.

So, on they went until they reached the final point before the chamber. The door… it was the same as Harry remembered. Snakes all over it, hooked over the opening. He took another deep breath and hissed the same word he'd used to get this far. _"Open…"_

Author's Note: Yes I know, you probably all hate me for leaving you with a cliff hanger. I'm partially sorry, I know how much I hate them and I'm sure everyone else does just as much. Please don't hate me too badly, I don't plan on doing this often and the only reason I did it with this chapter is because it was getting way too long. I'll continue their visit to the chamber in the next chapter, which I'm about to start right now and will likely have up within a couple days. What can I say? I can actually write at the moment! Thank you all again for your support and I truly adore all of you!


	11. Chapter 11

Hermione's Harry

Author's Note: I know I said I'd get this done quickly so that I didn't leave you all with a cliff hanger for too long but as soon as I sat down to write the words either wouldn't come or I had to leave before I'd gotten down one word. Sometimes I hate that I love to write. Also, I'm not sure whether I want to redeem Ron or not. If I do the only real difference is that he and Harry won't be dueling in the corridors and spewing hateful rubbish at each other if I redeem him. I do not plan on making them the best of friends again. Let me know what you all think Should I keep their near-constant arguing or have them tolerate one another again? As always I thank all of you for your patience, and support.

Chapter 11

A metal snake slithered out of nowhere and lined the door, disappearing back into the door. Hermione watched as the circular door swung open with a creak and the chamber was finally revealed. She knew she shouldn't have been surprised to see so many snake statues everywhere but it creeped her out a bit. What interested her though was the face of Salazar Slytherin coming out of the back wall. There were a few chunks of his face missing, and the mouth was open. Then, on the edge of the water she saw the monster she'd glimpsed for only a moment through the mirror she used to look around corners two years ago. It was huge, a few dozen feet long at least… and even dead it was terrifying. She slowly walked forward until she'd found herself standing right in front of it.

She quirked an eyebrow when she saw that one of the fangs were missing and it seemed to have been stabbed through the roof of its mouth. She turned back to look at Harry and he pointed to the fang on the ground, surrounded by a dark stain that looked disturbingly like blood. "Harry… was that from the diary?" He nodded slowly. "All of it?" He shook his head.

Hermione stepped away from the giant serpent and rushed into Harry's arms, throwing her own about his neck. "You never told me you'd been exposed to the basilisk's venom."

He nodded. He'd also failed to tell her of everything that he was remembering in that moment. Tom's cruel words, his running from the serpent because, _"Parseltongue won't save you now Potter, it only obeys me!"_

"Fawkes showed up, and because phoenix tears have healing powers… he saved me. It wasn't exactly painful once I'd taken the fang out of my arm. I just felt weaker, dizzy, and everything seemed dream-like. Until Tom said I'd be with my filthy mudblood mother soon…"

Hermione held Harry close as he shook with fear. She understood immediately that he'd never gotten any real closure with this. He probably locked away everything that had ever hurt him deep inside so he would never have to deal with it again. If he didn't start allowing himself to revisit his negative memories until he could accept them for what they were Hermione was sure he'd end up in terrible shape mentally.

"Harry," she said softly and stood back to look up into his eyes. "You're an amazing wizard and even greater young man. I'm sorry I wasn't here with you when you faced that creature and Tom, but I'm here now. And I do believe you had an idea of how to make a few good memories in here. Shall we insult the memory of Salazar Slytherin now?" She asked with a smirk.

Harry's eyes widened before he grinned and nodded. Without hesitation he began to lead her to the top of the dark founder's stone head. "Even bigger insult to him," he said with a smirk when she asked why they were climbing.

Once they were finally where Harry wanted them to be, he sat down and pulled Hermione onto his lap, kissing her passionately and slipping his hands under her shirt, pushing it off over her head. He grinned when he saw that her bra was red. She'd been wearing red so often lately it truly had become his favorite color.

Hermione blushed as she felt Harry's gaze wash over her. Having Harry admire her every time they were intimate was addictive for Hermione. He just seemed to be so surprised every time, and had a look on his face as if he were the luckiest guy of all time. The only exceptions were when they were in a broom cupboard together. They were usually in a state of desperate lustful urgency when they had to hurry to a broom cupboard, and there was no hungry appraisal from Harry at those points.

When they had space and time to spare he'd rake his eyes over her with desire before lunging forward and kissing her with a fierce passion that almost scared her.

Harry reached behind her and unhooked her bra, pulling it off of her as he kissed her again, then reaching down to pull her jeans off of her. "This would be so much easier if you'd wear a damn skirt occasionally," Harry muttered as she slipped out of her jeans and knickers. She narrowed her eyes at him and pointed her wand at her boyfriend with a raised eyebrow.

A moment later his clothes had vanished, reappearing beside them. Harry smiled at that and shrugged his shoulders. "Looks like I'm gonna have to start working on vanishing spells," he admitted and pulled her back onto him. "That was much quicker and easier."

Hermione shrugged and wrapped her arms back around him as he slid into her slowly. She moaned and wrapped her legs around him, trying to pull him closer to her. Harry chuckled and kissed her softly as they rocked their hips against each other. They moved so painfully slow, trying to break each other and make the other give up their game. It turned out that Harry was far more patient, and he found himself being pinned to the cold stone below him as Hermione took over and rocked back and forth at a much faster pace.

Harry groaned and hissed, unaware that he was speaking in Parseltongue. For Hermione, hearing the odd language again struck something in her that sent her flying over the edge and she collapsed on Harry as he rolled them over and pounded into her quick and fast to get to his own release.

They lay together in silence for a while, until Hermione turned to Harry with a smile. "Did we really just shag each other senseless in the Chamber of Secrets?" She asked.

Harry smirked and nodded, still looking up at the ceiling. "We most certainly did."

After laughing together at their ridiculous position, they dressed themselves and made their way back up into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom so they could check on their potion and get something to eat. Breakfast was over and had been for a while but lunch would probably be served in about an hour. So, they sat across from each other with the cauldron between them, exchanging smiles and laughter.

"You wanna know what's funny, Harry?" Hermione asked with a smirk. Harry nodded slowly as he stirred the contents of their potion once counter-clockwise and three times clockwise. "I think you've already taken up the Gryffindor king mantel, and I have a feeling our house might have finally picked a queen." Harry raised an eyebrow and smirked. "I'm being treated with as much respect as you've been getting. I think what normally never happens just happened."

Harry nodded and his smirk became a grin. "Good, anyone that disrespects you is going to wish they'd never been born. I've got a reason to give a damn, and after being faced with the prospect of losing you I'm not letting anyone get away with anything negative regarding you."

Hermione quirked an eyebrow. "Then I guess you won't mind me saying that if anyone lays a hand on you they're feeling my wrath. You've dealt with enough garbage in your life, I'm not letting anyone else get away with it."

Time passed slowly for the duo, eventually they concluded that their potion would be fine for another few days and made their way down to the great hall for lunch. When they sat down they saw a bunch of Slytherins smirking at them while it seemed that everyone in Gryffindor house was glaring daggers at the snakes. "What's going on?" Hermione asked.

Ron turned to her with a grin and placed a newspaper in her hands. "This is what's going on," he said joyously and left the great hall with Lavender on his arm. Hermione took a look at the front page and nearly ripped the paper in two.

 _Potter Dosed With Love Potions?_

 _By Rita Skeeter_

 _After a daring battle with a dangerous dragon it seems that Harry Potter may have found a steady girlfriend in Hermione Granger, a seemingly plain yet ambitious girl. But is this as innocent as we have been led to believe? My sources say otherwise._

" _She's beyond unattractive, I'm not sure how she could possibly attract Harry Potter without some kind of help. She's really brainy though, so maybe she tricked him with a love potion," says Lavender Brown._

 _Miss Brown's boyfriend Ronald says that he and Harry had been friends for years before having a rather awful falling out. After Ronald Weasley attempted to apologize for treating his good friend so terribly, Harry began acting strange. Poor Harry's first example of odd behavior was a refusal to forgive his best friend, and now it seems his entire life revolves around Miss Granger._

 _This reporter has to wonder why young Harry has so suddenly changed, and also why his eye fell upon Miss Granger, who I myself have met at the Three Broomsticks rather recently. She seems to be an argumentative, rude, and outrageously violent young woman with little to no appeal._

 _Given how new their relationship is, it also puzzles me that Harry has been overheard telling Miss Granger that, "you know my life doesn't matter to me, but you're a much different story. I can't imagine being without you again." When was he without her? Why was he without her for that period of time? How did this intensity all come about? And why does our dear fragile hero not value his own life?_

 _Only time and intense investigating will answer these questions, and I promise my dear readers, I will get to the bottom of this straight away!_

Harry read over Hermione's shoulder and felt something similar to hatred bubbling up within him. He ripped the paper out of Hermione's hands and crumpled it into a ball. "They're all liars Mione," he whispered in her ear and tossed the garbage article in the air, setting it alight. "I know you're not pouring potions down my throat."

Hermione shook her head. "You're right about that Harry, I'd never do such a thing. But what's bothering me is that quote she has from you. You said that to me just after the first task, and there was no one nearby. Fleur was still unconscious, none of the other champions and hostages had returned, we were completely alone. How does she know that you said that?" She asked, finally turning to face him after they'd sat down together.

Harry shrugged and began to load up his plate with food. "I'd suggest that she has this place bugged, but as you've said at least a dozen times that electricity doesn't work in Hogwarts because of the magic in the air."

Hermione nodded slowly and began to place food on her own plate. Unfortunately, they couldn't finish their meal. Within moments the mail was delivered and Harry had to escort Hermione to the hospital wing because a hate letter contained bubotuber pus that splattered all over her hands. Almost immediately after the yellowish green liquid landed on her skin, her hands began to erupt in large yellow boils.

"Mione!" Harry cried and wrapped her hands in a large napkin gently. "I'm taking you to the hospital wing." Hermione nodded slowly with tears in her eyes and they got up together. Harry led Hermione out of the great hall as Malfoy and his Slytherin buddies pointed and laughed. Harry paused at the door and pointed his wand at Malfoy, turning the irritating blond back into a ferret. After Moody did it he showed Harry the spell and they practiced it together. Both Harry and Hermione found that Malfoy fit as a ferret.

After a quick trip to the hospital wing and a kiss goodbye, Harry reluctantly left Hermione in madam Pomfrey's care and went looking for trouble.

That trouble ended up being Ronald Weasley, bragging about how he'd shagged Lavender the night before. Harry rolled his eyes and continued walking, deciding at first to ignore Ron. He changed his mind when he heard Ron speak to him. "Has she been potioning you Potter?" Ron hollered and crossed his arms over his chest as Harry turned to face him.

The moment Harry caught sight of Ron's smug look he wanted to knock the red-head's teeth down his throat. Instead, he took several steps forward and grabbed Ron by the front of his robes. "Are you ever going to shut your big mouth? Or do I have to shut it for you?" He asked calmly. "I'd be more than happy to remove all your teeth."

Ron's eyes widened and he gulped slowly. "All I did was ask a question," he said in an effort to defend himself. Harry rolled his eyes.

"A fucked up question, and you spoke to that fiction writer that calls herself a reporter. For someone who claimed he wanted to go back to being friends, you're being a right foul git."

Ron struggled until Harry finally released him. The pureblood wizard fell to the ground due to his lack of balance and glared up at his former friend. "You didn't forgive me."

Harry shrugged. "You didn't give me a reason." Ron made a move to stand and drew his wand, which Harry instantly sent flying, having drawn his own wand too fast for anyone to notice. "Point your wand at me one more time and you'll see the repercussions of what I survived in the muggle world." Harry pointed his wand directly at Ron's forehead. "I used to be scared and shy, a human punching bag in everyone's eyes." Harry narrowed his own eyes at Ron and smirked. "I used to beg and pray for death, but I'm not that scared little boy anymore and if you provoke me any further I'll teach you a lesson you'll never forget."

Ron's ears turned redder than his hair and he stood up slowly. Everyone in the hall had stopped to watch the latest fight between the former friends. "You never told me anything about that."

Harry shrugged. "You didn't ask, but Hermione did. Run along Ron, and don't brag about shagging Lavender. Everyone in Gryffindor house knows she's a slag, and getting into her pants is as much a triumph as getting a passing grade in Divination."

The dark-haired wizard put away his wand and turned to continue down the hall. Ron wasn't sure what to think about Harry anymore. Not only had Harry not forgiven him when he apologized, but he seemed far more confident, powerful, and always ready for a fight. He didn't seem to go looking for trouble but when it found him he was three steps ahead. It was odd for Ron to see Harry like this. His friend had never been like this before…


	12. Chapter 12

Hermione's Harry

Author's Note: Okay, I have taken everyone's almost unanimous votes into account. I'd like to take a moment to remind everyone that I DO NOT intend to reinstate the friendship between Harry and Ron, and would not do so whether Ron was redeemed or not. One of you many wonderful individuals that were kind enough to review mentioned that Ron's worst nightmare would be to fade into the background of Hogwarts. I agree, but I am not sure if I'm going to do that or not. Very few of you gave an actual opinion on whether or not Ron should be redeemed, and mostly stated that his friendship with Harry should not be mended. Again, whether he was redeemed in this story or not I would not mend their friendship. Also, there was also a mention of bringing Neville into a new "Golden Trio" and I'm playing with the idea in my head currently. If I decide to incorporate that possibility in my story it won't come up until at least the next year in the sequel, but it's likely that I will because it sounds amazing and there is so much I can do with it. Also, I only have a couple more chapters planned out for this story, and then I'll start officially working on and posting the sequel. Also, I've started working on another story which I haven't titled yet. Don't kill me please, I know I've got a lot going on. As always, I appreciate all the support from everyone!

Chapter 12

It only took a few days for Hermione's hands to heal, but the hate mail kept coming. Harry's brave and confident girlfriend began burning the letters instead of reading them, but that didn't stop the howlers. Hermione never complained of course, simply shrugged off the irritation and went about her day as normal. Harry on the other hand was ready to shove Rita Skeeter down a well and hunt down every jealous witch that had targeted his girlfriend.

Every time Hermione reminded him that she could handle herself, all he could think was that he was failing her. He'd promised that anyone disrespecting her would regret being born, and sworn that he wouldn't tolerate any negativity heading her way.

Over a week went by before Harry finally voiced his anger toward himself to Hermione. She'd simply told him that everything was fine, she didn't care one bit what anyone thought of her, and that she loved him dearly. Now he felt as though he was going mad. And what does a famous teenage wizard do when he feels as though he's going mad?

"That is it!" Harry announced as he read the latest Daily Prophet. Hermione rolled her eyes and continued to stir their potion. Surprisingly, they'd made great progress and would likely be able to take the first potion shortly after the final task.

"What's she written this time?" Hermione asked, though her tone was full of disinterest. Sure, she would have preferred that Skeeter keep out of her private life, and still hated the woman very much, but the so-called reporter's lie-filled "articles" were no longer of any interest to Hermione.

Harry crumpled the paper into a ball and aimed it directly into Moaning Myrtle's toilet. "If that irritating witch calls me a fragile hero, or makes you out to be some sort of slag with a talent for love potions one more time I'll figure out how to transfigure myself into a bloody dragon and spit fire at her! This is driving me mad!"

Hermione giggled and began to put her things away. "You say that all the time anymore, Harry. Why does it matter what she says? You know I'm not pouring potions down your throat and I've never viewed you as fragile."

Harry sighed and leaned back against the sinks. "You know why it matters to me Mione," he said while crossing his arms over his chest. "You're my witch, and I don't take kindly to you being pulled into this nonsense. It's bad enough that I'm stuck dealing with it, I don't want you to suffer too."

Hermione rolled her eyes and stood up, placing her hands on her hips. "I'm not suffering, Harry. My only concern is how the bloody hell she is managing to get all these exclusive interviews and legitimate information, the few times she puts any truth into her articles."

Harry growled and hooked his fingers through the loops of Hermione's jeans, pulling her to him. "I just want to be normal Mione. I want to snog and shag my astoundingly beautiful girlfriend, be embarrassed by my parents for being too affectionate, and be free of the stares." Hermione nodded slowly and pressed her hands against Harry's chest. "I want to have you all to myself, without having to deal with irritations like Rita Skeeter making things difficult. Is that too much to ask?" He asked.

Hermione shrugged. "Maybe wizarding society thinks that it really is too much to ask."

Harry groaned and gripped Hermione's waist, pressing her against him hard. "Fuck wizarding society. I want it to go away, so it should go away!"

Hermione giggled again and kissed Harry softly. Harry kissed her in a slightly more forceful manner and his hands traveled up her back. Hermione shivered and wrapped her arms about his neck, letting go in his arms and-

"You two are just so bloody irritating! All you do is snog, snog, snog, shag each other senseless, ignore me, and brew your damn potion! Can't you do any of that somewhere else?!" Myrtle asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Harry groaned in frustration and moved his hands from beneath Hermione's shirt to his jean's pockets. Hermione turned around to face Myrtle with a scowl and leaned back against Harry. "We do all of that except for brewing our potion in other places Myrtle, but we're just so in love we never WANT to keep our hands to ourselves. Don't you ever explore public parts of the castle?" Hermione asked with an annoyed tone of voice.

Myrtle stuck her tongue out at Hermione and floated over. "If I were alive I'd probably be far more appealing than you, cat girl!" She shouted and let out a sob before diving back into her toilet. Hermione rolled her eyes and turned back to face Harry.

"She is so annoying!" Harry let out a chuckle, agreeing with her before resuming their activities before being interrupted.

Hermione wasn't sure how she managed it, but for three days following Harry's outburst over the papers in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, she had managed to keep him calm and convince him to ignore Rita Skeeter. Unfortunately, it did not last.

Hedwig flew down to Harry during breakfast the next day. The letter she delivered was from Rita Skeeter.

Mr. Potter,

I trust that you along with your darling witch have finally learned your lesson about making powerful enemies. If you would like the articles to stop, I suggest we meet for an interview at the Three Broomsticks this weekend before the final task. You are welcome to bring your girlfriend along, of course. If I do not see you there, I will seek out further humiliating details from other unsavory candidates.

Warm regards,

Rita Skeeter.

Harry could feel something within him ignite and he left the great hall with the letter from Rita Skeeter clutched in his hand. Hermione watched her boyfriend leave with such rage and wanted to calm him down, but she was sure it wouldn't work this time. She was quickly learning that Harry had issues with anger. He was always a sweet and attentive boyfriend and he'd never been cruel or violent with her, but with all the pain he'd suffered through and the constant spotlight on him it was no wonder Harry often went looking for trouble or danger anymore. He was searching for an outlet… a way to let out the anger he must constantly feel trying to come out.

She sighed and set down her fork, trying to think of any and every thing she could do in order to help Harry, but nothing much came to mind. Encouraging him to talk about it would only make him want to leave the room, and everything else was either too far-fetched or stupid to work. He'd know what was going on if she mentioned the almost constant dueling going on between Ron and himself, or suggested that they go looking for trouble together.

Hermione hung her head and sighed again, trying to think of anything that would help. She felt a need to help Harry, an obligation to provide an outlet that would alleviate the intense rage he felt.

Meanwhile, Harry was storming through the corridors, looking for someone, anyone that he could fight with. This time he didn't want to use his wand, he wanted to feel his fists collide with someone's face. He couldn't take this anymore, it was enough to make him scream. He wasn't a circus freak damn it! He was a human being with a life and someone to love for once. He was desperate for some damn privacy. Lockhart's stupid old statements ran through his head. _"Fame is a fickle friend Harry," "Celebrity is as celebrity does."_

Eventually he found what he was looking for. Ron was lounging under a tree outside the castle, most likely enjoying a moment of peace that could and probably would stretch on for years for the annoying red-head.

It was infuriating, thinking of the differences between himself and Ron. Ron knew his parents, had a ton of siblings, and lived in a house that was so warm with human compassion that he could never catch cold. So what if he didn't have a lot of money? What was the problem with not being famous? Why did he think that it was necessary to outshine his many brothers? Only three of them had left school and they all went off to find their own bliss. Charlie obviously had the most exciting job, tending to dragons. Bill worked with the goblins at Gringotts, and Percy was Barty Crouch's faithful errand boy accustomed to being called the wrong name. Ron's time may not be in school, but if he gave a damn and actually put forth some damn effort in his life he could easily do something worthwhile.

Yet all Ron wanted was to be in Harry's shoes. Harry wondered if Ron would still want that if he knew how horrible Harry's life tended to be. Sure, he had a beautiful and strong-willed girlfriend that he loved with all his heart, and she made life worth living most days. But all the negatives had a way of stacking up around him all the time. Yes, he was famous. He couldn't walk down the street without being stopped for an autograph, or a hand shake, or a damn picture. Did Ron really want his life to be put on pause for everyone that wanted some small piece of him? Did Ron really want to have grown up without any siblings, or his parents? As far as Harry was concerned it would take a lot of hate to want to be without your family, and he should know considering how he felt about the Dursleys, his blood relatives. And yeah, he was rich, but he'd give away all of his gold for one moment with his parents.

Before he could approach Ron, he felt Hermione's hand on his shoulder. He turned to face her and saw tears in her eyes. "Is it really going to make you feel better?" She asked slowly, gesturing to Ron.

Harry shrugged and sighed. "I don't fucking know, but this is driving me crazy. I've never had to deal with my fame like this before. People have mostly respected that I want to be left alone or I just didn't matter as much most of the time. Now everyone wants and piece of me. Look at this!" He said and held up the letter in his hand.

Hermione took the paper from him and read Rita's message. It made her angry too, but not because the blonde bitch with painted on eyebrows was butting into their lives again. It made her angry because Harry deserved better than this. She sighed and looked up at Harry. "Are you going to take her offer?" She asked.

Harry shrugged his shoulders again. "I don't know. I don't want to give in and give people what they want from me, but I want this to go away. And we've already looked into wizarding law, and "journalists" aren't held under the same restrictions as they would be in the muggle world. It's almost like they don't know the meaning of the words libel and slander. We can't fight her in a legal sense, and if we don't do what she wants we'll be facing more and more far-fetched articles and cruel hate mail. I'm tired of you having to suffer because she's a horrible little insect."

Hermione nodded slowly, and her eyes widened. She grabbed Harry by his shirt and pulled him to her, kissing him forcefully. "That's it!" She yelled. "Harry, you're a genius! It all makes sense now!" She said and pulled him by his hand to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

Harry was about as confused as he was when they went back in time last year before she explained. Now, as they raced to the safety and privacy of the bathroom they'd been brewing the animagus potion in, Harry felt quite the opposite of a genius.

"Hermione will you please tell me what they bloody hell you mean?" Harry asked as Hermione locked the door behind them.

She turned to Harry with a huge grin and kissed him again. "She's an animagus! Do you remember the second task? You told me your life meant nothing to you and that I was a different story, and then you pulled a beetle out of my hair! Beetles aren't active in water! You mentioned being bugged, but the substitutes muggles use for magic don't work here! We're going to that interview, and we'll slip her a potion that will force her into her animagus state. If I'm wrong, nothing will happen. If I'm right we've got her trapped!" Hermione shouted with glee and kissed Harry again, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Harry responded eagerly and kissed her back with a desperate passion. No doubt about it, his girlfriend was brilliant, and he loved her.


	13. Chapter 13

Hermione's Harry

Author's Note: I'm hitting you guys with another cliff-hanger, I'm so sorry. I did not like this chapter and just wanted to end it. Please forgive, some serious shit went down with my home life very recently and I just wanted to finish this chapter. I'll start on the next one soon, I swear. And I promise that the next chapter will be better. Far more painful, but better.

Chapter 13

"Potter," McGonagall said as she walked over to Harry and Hermione. They were all in the great hall, eating dinner when she decided to show up with a scowl. "Why do you have a beetle in a jar at the table?" She asked and crossed her arms over her chest.

Hermione's face reddened considerably and she put her hand over the lid, while Harry shrugged with a smile on his face. "No reason, we found it outside the grounds and Hermione wanted to keep it. Personally, I think it's a fat and ugly little bug and it should be squashed."

McGonagall narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Well, your family is here Mr. Potter. Or rather, a couple friends of yours. I'm going to need you to come with me."

Harry nodded slowly and stood up. "Can Hermione come too?" He asked, which McGonagall smiled at.

"Yes Mr. Potter, if Miss Granger wants to come with you she is more than welcome." Harry turned to face Hermione as she gathered up her books. One thing he both admired and found slightly odd was that he could never catch her without a book somewhere nearby.

The teen couple followed McGonagall into her office to find Remus and Sirius seated in a couple of students' desks. "Pup!" Sirius shouted and hurried to Harry, pulling him into a warm embrace. Remus pulled Hermione into a hug and they all ended up hugging each other together.

"What are you guys doing here?!" Harry asked as they all let go of each other. Remus smiled as Sirius leaned back against a desk and shrugged.

"We're family, aren't we? Besides, James would have given his right arm to see his kid win a tournament like this one, or to watch one of your quidditch games. We'll be standing there in your parents' places, as a reminder that you've got people in your life that are proud of you."

Harry smiled again and threw his arms around his unofficial uncles. Hermione watched Harry with a smile and loved that he had even one moment where he wasn't angry.

She set down the jar and her smile grew wider as her pride in herself swelled. The beetle was in fact Rita Skeeter, and they'd caught her rather recently. They'd gone to the interview, slipped the potion into her firewhiskey, led her outside, and caught her in the jaw the moment she started to change into her beetle form.

The only reason Hermione hadn't let Harry step on her was because she didn't know if that would count as murder in the wizarding world. Sure, they could make the claim that they didn't know she had a beetle form as an animagus and that it had been an accident, but would anyone actually believe that? And what if stepping on her didn't kill her? What if it did? There would be too many questions asked if they killed Rita Skeeter. And not only that, but Rita Skeeter would be a better asset to them alive and Hermione knew that Harry didn't really want to kill her. He just hated that she was a cruel liar of a journalist.

"I heard recently that Rita Skeeter went missing not too long ago," Sirius stated with mischievous eyes. "And you two are lugging around a rather ugly beetle…" He continued.

Harry rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest while Hermione bit her lip, her cheeks reddening rather steadily. "She wouldn't stop sticking her nose in my business and Hermione was getting dangerous hate mail. I had every right to defend my girlfriend."

Hermione couldn't help the giggles that escaped her. "Harry wants to step on her," Hermione admitted.

Sirius smiled. "Why haven't you let him?"

Their four-way conversation went on for an hour, and was ended by McGonagall announcing that it was time for Harry to come down to the quidditch pitch. She wrinkled her nose at Sirius, but smiled when he became a dog and bounded to her, licking her hand. "You silly dog!" She'd admonished before shifting into her cat form and batting at his nose with her itty bitty kitty paws.

Hermione walked a short ways behind the rest of the group, and when Harry noticed how far back she was he took several steps back and kept in pace with her. She obviously had something to tell him. "Harry, the potion will be ready by tomorrow.

I've been doing a bit more reading, and apparently… it's dangerous." He quirked an eyebrow at her and she bit her lip. "It creates a mental test that everyone has to face. We have to overcome our fears, our worst memories. Once we've taken the potion we're trapped inside our minds until our greatest fear has been defeated."

Harry nodded slowly. "I'm guessing your greatest fear has evolved from what it was last year when McGonagall told you that you'd failed everything."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, it has. My greatest fear is that eventually… you won't want me anyone. Or that you won't be around to want me."

Harry nodded again. "I'm touched," he admitted and sighed. "But there's no reason to be afraid that I won't want you. There's only one reason I'd ever want to break up with you and it would probably be because I'd fear for you if you stayed with me. But, you'd never allow me to break up with you to protect you."

Hermione felt her face warm and she slipped her hand into Harry's. "I love you."

Harry lifted her hand up and kissed the back of it. "I love you too," he said softly and he took a deep breath as they made it to the Quidditch Pitch. He gently kissed Hermione's cheek and walked out in front of the maze he'd have to navigate with the rest of the competitors. Cedric and Krum were already there but Fleur had yet to show up.

Hermione made her way into the stands and attempted to ignore the horrible feeling she had that something would go wrong and Harry would end up dead. Many students in the past had perished, and Harry had nearly been killed by a bloody dragon in the first task! This wasn't good. Something was going to go wrong. Something bad was going to happen. It was bound to end badly.

As Hermione continued to fret about her boyfriend and the final task of the tournament, Professor Lupin sat beside her and Padfoot rested his head on her lap. She couldn't stop herself from worrying, and when Harry walked into the maze, she nearly fainted. This was it… It has officially begun. If he didn't make it she was going to have a heart attack.

Harry felt as though he'd been wandering for hours when he ran into Cedric and Krum dueling. Before he saw the two contestants throwing hexes and curses he thought things couldn't get worse. He'd been stuck with a sphinx that gave him a riddle to solve (he hated riddles, he was usually awful with them), he'd faced at least three arcomatulas, a blast-ended skrewt, and a weird mist that confused the hell out of him for several minutes. Suddenly he's confronted with two expert wizards dueling each other and all Harry can think is that someone needs to call this task off right now because everything is completely insane!

"Cedric! Krum! Stop!" He ran at them and cast a shield charm between them that Hermione had shown him only two days prior to this blasted event. Krum went flying backward and Cedric took a step back into devil's snare.

Harry watched as Cedric's wand flew out of his hand and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He quickly slashed the vines to bits, freeing Cedric. The handsome Hogwarts champion looked at Harry and smiled. "Thanks that was incredibly stupid of me, d'ya think Krum's alright?" Cedric asked.

Harry shrugged. "I'm sure he wasn't too hurt being flung backward, he's tough. But why they bloody hell were you two dueling?" He asked of Cedric.

Cedric cringed. "His eyes were strange, almost completely blank. He just started attacking me and I had no choice but to fight back. The first five shield charms I tried fell apart almost instantly after he hit them. How did you make one that strong?" Cedric asked.

"Hermione taught me, and there's no one better at spell work than my brilliant girlfriend." Cedric nodded and they turned to the right, seeing the cup glittering in front of them.

Cedric sighed. "Doesn't seem anywhere near as important as it did, does it?" He asked of Harry.

Harry shrugged. "It's never been important to me. I already have too much fame and lack of privacy, I don't need any more of it."

Cedric nodded again and took a deep breath. "Well, I think you deserve it. You saved me twice, you warned me about the dragons, and everyone's been counting you out from the beginning."

Harry smiled and shrugged. "Maybe…" He sighed and smiled again. "Together?" He asked and Cedric nodded his agreement. The walls around them began to shift and change, prompting the teens to reach out and grab the cup. It was the worst mistake Harry had ever made.

They were not greeted by a cheering audience, but instead by cold grass that worried Harry. He got up immediately and began to look around, while Cedric stared at the cup. "The cup is a portkey Harry," he said and turned immediately to see Harry fall to his knees and clutch his forehead in his hands. "Harry!" He shouted and ran to the boy in pain.

"GET BACK TO THE CUP!" Harry screamed as a green light shot over him and hit Cedric in the chest. Harry watched as Cedric fell backward and hit the ground. "CEDRIC!"

Everything went black.


	14. Chapter 14

Hermione's Harry

Author's Note: I know there must be mixed feelings about Cedric being killed off. I honestly wish I could have kept him alive because I thought he was a great character as well, but it's better for my story to keep it cannon and have him die. I'm sorry, but there are several things that were caused by his death, reminders that his death represented, and in all honesty, he was the first important and confirmed death in the Second Wizarding War, and it wouldn't make sense for Voldemort's return to not be marked with the death of an innocent witch or wizard that everyone knew. As always, I do not own Harry Potter and I appreciate the support of all of everyone reading.

Chapter 14

The void was calling to Harry, and he did not want to open his eyes. Here, in nonexistence, he was free. There was nothing to hurt him, nothing to hurt those he loved, no threat of Voldemort, no lack of parents, no threat to Hermione…

That was when he did open his eyes. Hermione wasn't there with him, she could still be in danger, and even if she wasn't he couldn't bear to leave her behind. He loved Hermione, he couldn't leave her behind.

As Harry took in his surroundings a few things became apparent immediately. One, he was in the graveyard from his dream. Two, he was tied to a tombstone. Three, Cedric was quite obviously dead. And last, Wormtail was brewing a potion of some kind in an enormous cauldron.

There was a third living presence in the grave yard, hidden in a bundle of blankets and lying against another tombstone. Judging by the prickling feeling Harry could feel in his forehead, he assumed that the thing in the blankets was Voldemort.

Both of the living wizards in the graveyard were ignoring Harry. Wormtail marched over to Voldemort and bowed to him. "It's ready my lord," he whispered.

"Well done, Wormtail," the weakened version of the voice from Harry's worst nightmares and worst memory said with praise. "Do it now!" it demanded. Wormtail nodded slowly and picked up the bundle of blankets. He carried it over to the cauldron gently and dropped it into the potion.

Harry hoped that Voldemort would drown in the contents of the potion, but that was rarely how magic decided to work. Wormtail seemed to be coming right at him, but turned away and pointed his wand at a bone lying in front of the tombstone beside Harry. "Bone of the Father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son." The bone levitated over the cauldron and when it was dropped in the contents ignited in flames. As the flames died down, Wormtail held his left arm over the potion and withdrew a dagger from his robes. "Flesh of the servant, willingly sacrificed, you will revive your master." Harry watched with horror as Wormtail sliced off the hand missing a finger. The potion glowed a bloody red that made Harry sick to his stomach.

Wormtail turned to Harry with a menacing look in his eyes. As he marched steadily toward him, Harry struggled against his bonds. "I lied to you, Potter," Wormtail said suddenly, brandishing the knife. Harry looked up at him with intense hatred. "James would not have shown me mercy had he been able to punish me for my betrayal. He would have killed me himself."

"I don't doubt it you pathetic lump of filth," Harry muttered venomously. Wormtail merely grinned and pierced Harry's arm with the knife, cutting a strong line through his skin. Harry struggled against his bindings and resisted the urge to cry out in pain.

Wormtail smiled and carried the knife to the cauldron. "Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your adversary!"

The cauldron glowed white and seemed to cave in on itself. Moments later a figure was standing in place of the potion. Harry gulped, not wanting the see the pale, skeletal figure that was the resurrected murderer of his parents. Wormtail passed over the black robes that Voldemort had been wrapped up in and the dark, reborn wizard pulled them on.

When he turned to face Harry with blood red eyes, Harry felt as though his forehead was splitting in two. "Potter," the cold voice whispered. "How I have longed for this day. To be whole again, to confront you in all my glory, and show my followers which of us is more powerful." Voldemort turned to face Wormtail with a grin. "Hold out your arm my faithful servant." Wormtail held out his left arm, but was quickly scolded to present the other. Wormtail held out his right arm and flinched when Voldemort took hold of his wrist and pressed his wand to the dark mark on Wormtail's right arm.

Harry looked above to see the dark mark forming in the sky. Within moments they were surrounded by death eaters, Voldemort's followers. "Welcome, my friends. Thirteen years have passed, and you stand before me as though it was only yesterday that I summoned you. I confess myself disappointed in you all, my supposedly faithful friends."

He sighed, a reflection of his disappointment. "Not one of you went looking for me, I seemed to have disappeared and suddenly you all abandon me. Shameful."

"I returned!" Wormtail squeaked. Voldemort turned back to him and the smaller pudgy wizard took a step back.

"You returned out of fear Wormtail," Voldemort scolded. Then he grinned. "But, no matter your reason you did indeed return, and you did help to return me to my former glory. Lord Voldemort rewards those that prove themselves useful and loyal." He waved his wand over Wormtail's arm and a silvery substance appeared, connecting to Wormtail's wrist and forming into a hand. "See to it that your loyalty does not waver in the future my devoted servant."

Wormtail nodded and thanked Voldemort insistently. "I am sure you are all wondering why the Potter boy is here, why he is still alive." The death eaters nodded slowly, eager to show their devotion. "He is my guest of honor, and your entertainment. I shall duel Potter properly, at my full strength, and you will all see that I am superior. That I am the most powerful wizard in this world, and that no one has the power to truly defeat me."

Harry fell forward, no longer bound. His wand was placed in his hand and he was lifted onto his feet. "You know how to duel, do you not Potter?" Voldemort asked. "We bow to one another to show respect, I'll even do the same for you out of respect of your one true victory against me when I was so much weaker than I am now."

Harry remained standing, refusing to bow to his parent's killer. Voldemort deserved none of his respect, none of it!

"How very rude of you Potter, forgetting your manners like that!" Voldemort yelled. "Imperio!" He yelled.

Harry felt that fake giddy feeling of absolute peace and joy, heard that voice in his head telling him to bow. I won't, he kept saying to himself. Don't do it. I won't bow. I will never bow to you. I refuse. I will not! "I WILL NOT NOW OR EVER BOW TO THE COWARD THAT MURDERED MY PARENTS IN COLD BLOOD! I HAVE NO RESPECT FOR YOU AND WILL NOT PRETEND TO!" Harry bellowed and yelled out, "Expelliarmus!"

"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort hollered and their spells collided. A golden thread connected their now vibrating wands and both wizards held on for dear life. A protective dome of magic seemed to come from the thread connecting the wands and from the center something burst forth that threw Harry almost completely off guard. Cedric Diggory, obviously a ghost, standing and smiling warmly at Harry.

"You're strong Harry, you won't die here. Hold on, don't let go, don't let my killer win." The ghost version of Cedric walked toward Harry as he struggled to hold on to his wand. "You have so much waiting for you beyond this graveyard." Harry nodded slowly.

"I'm so sorry," he murmured.

Cedric shook his head. "Don't be, I have no regrets. But please, take my body back to my father."

Harry nodded slowly and looked back at Voldemort. Two more ghost like people came rushing toward Harry. He realized he was looking into the faces of his parents. "Harry my brave baby boy!" His mother cried. His father seemed to have tears in his eyes.

"Harry, when you break the connection we can linger to hold them off but you have to hurry, do you understand?" James asked of his son. Harry nodded and turned to his mother.

The only person he'd ever wanted to touch him before was Hermione but in that moment all he wanted was for his mother to hold him close and tell him everything would be okay. "Let go sweetheart, you're ready. You'll see us again, I promise. Let go," she said softly. Harry nodded, closed his eyes and jerked his wand upward. The connection broke and the ghosts rushed at Voldemort, forming an odd sort of force field. He ran, managing to make it to Cedric's body. He took hold of the dead man's shirt and summoned the cup. He felt himself being pulled out of the graveyard. He was going home, and he was bringing Cedric with him.


	15. Chapter 15

Hermione's Harry

Author's Note: Okay, I'm going to be blunt about this. I wanted to bring Harry's Parents back from the dead in the sequel, or at the end of this one. I'm not entirely sure if I should or not so if anyone wants to comment on this idea you're all more than welcome to and even encouraged. Also, I'd like to remind everyone that I do not own Harry Potter, and that I appreciate all of the support from everyone that has read my story and enjoyed it. Thank you so much.

Chapter 15

Hermione watched as Harry landed on the ground, holding on to Cedric's body. The older wizard was quite obviously dead, and when she took in the state that Harry was in she ran out of the stands at a break-neck pace. It was so oddly reminiscent of the first task, but so much worse. She shoved past anyone and everyone that got in her way, by the time she'd gotten to the ground she could hear Harry.

"He's back!" He yelled, choking on a sob. "He's back! Voldemort's back! Cedric! He asked me to bring his body back! I couldn't leave him! Not there!"

Harry was still sobbing and shaking when she heard Fudge. "The body must be moved Dumbledore, too many people."

Hermione shoved past them and fell beside Harry pulling him into her arms. "You're safe now, Harry," she whispered to him and he wrapped his own arms around her tightly. "I won't leave you," she said firmly and kissed his cheek.

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore began but she turned to face him with a scowl that made the older wizard take a step back.

"Professor, I have always had the utmost respect for you, but if you try to move me away from Harry you won't survive the night. I'm staying with Harry, he needs me." Dumbledore nodded slowly and Hermione turned back to Harry, holding him close. "You're safe Harry. You're home, you both are, and I'm sure Cedric would be so grateful for what you've done for him." Harry nodded against her neck as he sobbed.

Remus watched this exchange while Padfoot watched in his dog form. Hermione threatened Dumbledore in order to stay with Harry. In Remus' eyes that meant she was truly very serious about the young man she was holding close. As far as Sirius was concerned, Hermione had just proven that she was the only one that deserved to be with Harry.

Only a moment later a lot of things happened at once. Mad Eye Moody came rushing forward, shoving people to the side as his face and body morphed into something different. Severus Snape stunned Mad Eye, and Minerva McGonagall returned with Poppy just as the defense against the dark arts teacher went flying backward. Lupin and Snape carried Mad Eye away as Dumbledore followed closely behind. Poppy shook herself and made her way to the embracing couple, attempting to gain their attention.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, could you please come with us to the hospital wing? Harry looks as though he needs to be tended to, and we wouldn't dream of keeping the two of you apart right now." It was McGonagall's words that finally had both teens agreeing.

Hours later, Harry's arm had been bandaged up, he'd explained what he saw in the graveyard to Dumbledore, and the other teachers, and Fudge. Fudge did not believe him, which Harry was rather angry about. Sirius' innocence was revealed to the Weasley family and to the other teachers, Harry had been told what was going on with Moody (that a death eater had taken polyjuice every hour on the hour to pretend to be Moody and he had now received the Dementor's Kiss), and now he was lying in his hospital bed with Hermione seated beside him on a rather uncomfortable looking chair, after standing by him throughout all the craziness of the night.

Harry sighed and sat up in his bed. "Mione," he said softly.

"Yes Harry?"

"Come up here," he insisted and scooted over to make room. Hermione merely smiled and climbed up with him.

"You need to rest, Harry. You're still hurt, and I want you to get better, not worse." Harry nodded slowly and lay back down with his arms open. Hermione groaned good-naturedly and lay down in Harry's arms, allowing him to hold her close and kiss her softly. "If I'm going to be up here you're going to sleep. Deal?" Hermione asked and kissed his cheek softly.

Harry nodded. "Okay, just let me hold you. I need you tonight Mione, I really do."

Up in Gryffindor Tower, Ron was not faring very well. He couldn't shut off his mind and sleep, as he'd been able to so many times in the past. He couldn't stop thinking about the mess he'd made of everything. He hadn't intended at first to make Harry hate him, and he didn't want Hermione to think badly of him either. Damn his constant jealousy, he ruined everything simply because he couldn't handle not being the best. Hermione was not a good match for him, and he knew it. Ron didn't want to admit it but even he had to acknowledge that a relationship between the two of them was unlikely even if Harry wasn't a factor. In all honesty Ron wasn't even sure why he had fancied her, they had nothing in common. Maybe it was just because he could see how close Harry and Hermione were and he wanted to come between it before the two of them got together.

That was just a fantastic plan, worked wonders that did. He'd failed to get Hermione to find him appealing and he'd lost both his friends in the process. His inability to let go of his anger and jealousy caused Ron to end up almost completely alone. Bloody hell, he was completely alone. His own family were ashamed of his abysmal grades, and his horrible actions against Harry and Hermione.

Ron truly felt as though he had nothing left… he no longer felt a need to have what Harry had. What was fame and fortune when one of the most evil wizards to ever live wanted you dead? What did it matter if you had a girlfriend if you were constantly running for your life?

Ron shook his head and rolled over in bed. Harry was right not to forgive him. If he were in Harry's place, Ron would have done the same. He sighed and closed his eyes, attempting yet again to quiet his thoughts and ignore the fact that he now saw himself as reprehensible.

The next morning, Hermione woke up in Harry's arms, with her head tucked into the crook of his neck. She propped herself up on her elbows to see Harry still sleeping peacefully. It thrilled her to see that the horrors of the night before had not completely destroyed him, not that she believed they would. Harry was strong, but even Hermione had to admit that everyone had their breaking points, including Harry.

Speaking of Harry, he opened his eyes shortly after Hermione woke up, and when he saw that his girlfriend had stayed with him all night he smiled brightly. "Hey," He said softly and sat up slowly. Hermione sat up with him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Good morning, did you sleep alright?" Harry asked and nudged his head against Hermione's softly.

Hermione nodded slowly. "No dreams, completely peaceful," she said with a smile, and stared down at the floor. "I know we planned on taking the potion today, Harry. We don't have to if you don't want to."

Harry shrugged and wrapped an arm around Hermione. "We've come so far Mione, we can't just quit because the potion is meant to test us. Let's just get something to eat and take the potion afterward."

Hermione nodded slowly. "Only if you're sure, Harry."

Harry turned to face Hermione, tilting her head up by her chin gently. He smiled at her with sincerity and kissed her softly. "Of course I'm sure, Hermione. I was the one that suggested it, wasn't I?" He asked and got out of bed. "But before we go testing ourselves we should get some food in our systems."

Hermione rolled her eyes and followed Harry out of bed. They were quickly approached by Madam Pomfrey who instantly began to fuss over them.

"Are you absolutely sure that you're okay, Potter… Miss Granger, you'll make sure he doesn't strain himself, won't you… I'd prefer that you both stay here today… No, Headmaster has not demanded that you stay in the hospital wing… Potter get back here right now I need to make sure your wound is healing at the very least!"

Harry rolled his eyes and turned back around to face madam Pomfrey with a scowl. "Wipe that look off your face," she said in a scolding manner and gently removed the bandages over Harry's forearm. Hermione nearly cried when she saw the angry slash on Harry's arm. He was averting his eyes, something Hermione interpreted as him not wanting to see the evidence of Voldemort's presence during the final task. "Still looks rather bad, but it's only been one night." Pomfrey sighed and grabbed a healing salve that she rubbed into the cut on Harry's arm. He flinched minutely but did not jerk his arm away. It took only a few more minutes for Poppy to re-bandage Harry's arm and send them on their way.

When they got to the common room, Hermione stood in front of Harry. Instead of arguing with Hermione about how he could take care of himself, he decided to let her do what she felt was her job. She wanted to take care of him, and Harry didn't feel like being strong at the moment.

The moment the portrait swung open they were met with complete silence and stares. Harry attempted to ignore everyone and just look at the back of Hermione's head, while Hermione gave everyone else a death glare as a warning that now was not the time to pester her boyfriend.

No one stood up to ask a question, no one sent any hateful comments Harry's way, and no one dared to glare at either of them. Most important, no one even attempted to congratulate Harry on winning the Triwizard tournament. Hermione watched Harry walk up the stairs to the boy's dormitories until he turned a corner and disappeared. She turned to face the rest of her house and took a deep breath.

"If Harry comes back down before me I want one of you to make sure he waits for me and I want someone else to come up and let me know he's come down. Understood?" Hermione asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Neville nodded and stood up. "I can get him to wait for you, Harry's never had much of a problem with me," he said cautiously.

Hermione smiled and approached Neville, pulling him into a loose hug. "You're a great friend Neville, and Harry feels that way too." She then turned to Ginny with a smile. "You'll come get me if he comes down before I do, right?" She asked.

The redhead nodded with a smile. "Of course, I know he needs you, and I'm sure madam Pomfrey told you to take care of him."

Hermione smiled and hugged Ginny before running upstairs. Not caring for a shower, she changed into a comfortable black T-shirt, jeans, and black boots. She pulled her hair back into a high ponytail and gave Crookshanks a quick hug and kiss, which the cat pretended to ignore. Without delay, she hurried down the stairs, running into Ginny on the way. After they recovered from nearly crashing into each other, Hermione hurried down ahead of the red head and walked up to Harry.

Unsurprisingly, Harry was waiting in his favorite chair, picking at a tear in his T-shirt, obviously inherited from Dudley because it was clearly several sizes too big and made him look like a toothpick when she knew he was actually rather well built. He looked up as she descended the steps, seeming to know that she was there before he saw her. Neither Harry nor Hermione seemed to think this was odd because they'd behaved this way for months now, but everyone else noticed how strange it was.

"Hey Harry, are you ready to get something to eat?" She asked casually as she sat down on his lap.

Harry nodded and gave her a chaste kiss before lifting her off of him and standing up. "Care to lead the way?" He asked. Hermione laughed at his joking manner and led him down to breakfast.

Their meal was quick, and they hurried out of the hall the moment Dumbledore began to make a speech about Cedric Diggery. Harry knew he wouldn't be able to handle it and Hermione was not going to leave Harry's side until absolutely necessary.

They kept in perfect pace with each other, hurrying to Myrtle's bathroom while trying not to draw attention to themselves. Neither teen wanted anyone to know where they were going, or to wonder why they had disappeared. This was their secret, and because they planned on becoming rogue animagi… it was even more important that they keep this project to themselves.

Unfortunately, their secret would always be in jeopardy if Myrtle knew what they were doing… it was possible that she knew which potion they were brewing, and Hermione still had more to tell Harry that she'd learned from the book. Myrtle could blow their cover completely if they weren't careful…

They made their way into Myrtle's bathroom and locked the doors behind them. Myrtle was already there waiting, and hovering over their potion. She had a smile on her face. "I know what you're doing," she said in an almost musical voice. Harry gulped, but Hermione stood confidently.

"How do you know? And if you're right, are you going to tell anyone?" Hermione asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Myrtle shook her head. "I remember a group of boys, two of them were very handsome, and they carted a third pathetic lump of flesh with them. They brewed the same potion, and talked about how they were going to turn into a dog, stag, and rat once they took a second potion. The one talking about being a stag looked a lot like you, Harry." Harry gulped again. "I never told anyone, and I won't tell anyone about the two of you, if you'll tell me what it's like once you've changed. I've always been curious, and if you tell me all about it, there won't be a need for me to say anything, will there?" She asked politely.

Hermione looked as though she were ready to faint. Moaning Myrtle being nice? Making polite conversation? Promising to keep a secret? Harry stepped up in front of Hermione and nodded. "I promise that we will at least try to tell you what it's like. We're about to take the first potion, we're going to take the second potion next year probably."

Myrtle smiled. "Okay, I won't say anything. Can I watch you take the first potion?" She asked, batting her nearly transparent eyelashes. Harry and Hermione both nodded slowly and sat down in front of the cauldron.

Hermione grabbed two socks out of her pockets and transfigured them into wine glasses. Hermione took a deep breath and ladled a small portion of the potion into Harry's glass. "Are you ready, Harry?" She asked.

Harry nodded slowly and took a deep breath. "Just hand it over," he said.

Hermione bit her lip. "Harry, if you're successful your inner animal will approach you and give you wisdom pertaining to your journey forward as an animagus. And the links the book was talking about, that has nothing to do with us. Our inner animals are going to link themselves to us, and we'll feel it as time goes on."

Harry nodded slowly and took the glass from her hand. He peered into it curiously, admiring the metallic look of the potion. "Is it supposed to look like this?" He asked.

Hermione nodded and rolled her eyes. "It turned out exactly how it was supposed to Harry, I promise." Harry nodded and drank the contents of the glass. The moment he did his vision went blurry and he felt oddly weightless. The colors and shapes around him merged together and danced in his mind. Before he knew it, he was staring into the eyes of his parents' killer. Harry struggled to move but he found that he couldn't.

A quick examination of his surroundings and Harry realized that he was back in the graveyard with Voldemort, and he was tied down to a tombstone yet again, but this time there were astounding differences. There were no death eaters, Cedric was not there, and neither was Wormtail. Instead, he was surrounded by dementors and he could see Hermione lying on the ground in front of him. She was breathing, obviously still alive, but she was unconscious and weak. Her face was badly bruised and her clothes were torn. He could see that her back had been slashed rather violently with what Harry was sure was a cutting curse of some kind.

The cold laughter that Harry had heard many times before when subjected to Dementor attacks and in his nightmares rang through the air, and Harry turned his gaze away from Hermione to look into the eyes of the one person in the world he would love to kill. "Finally awake, Potter. It's just delightful to see you again, and this time I have your mudblood whore to enjoy. I was hoping I'd have a way to torment you before ending your life. A way to make you beg for mercy."

Harry struggled against his bonds, desperate to destroy the monster that was tormenting his girlfriend. "Stay away from Hermione!" He bellowed.

Voldemort laughed again. "Why should I, dear boy?" Voldemort asked before pointing his wand at Hermione and whispering, "Crucio."

Hermione's eyes shot open and she screamed in agony. Harry could only imagine how much pain she must be in, and he wanted to take it on himself instead. As she writhed on the ground screaming, Harry shouted at his enemy to stop. It seemed as though an hour passed before Voldemort finally lifted the spell from Hermione.

Harry growled at Voldemort as the dark wizard laughed again. Harry, empowered by Hermione's screams of pain, forced himself onto his feet, and the ropes holding him down faded away into nothingness. He knelt beside Hermione and checked to make sure that she was alive. She had a rather strong pulse still, and the steady rise and fall of her chest made it clear that she was breathing.

Voldemort stared at Harry as if he didn't know what to make of the wizard in front of him. Harry looked up at Voldemort with violently enraged eyes and the much older wizard doubled over in pain. "I will never rest," Harry began with a tone of conviction. "I will never stop until you have felt all the pain you've dished out to others magnified beyond tolerance. I will avenge my parents, I will avenge Cedric, and I will never allow you to lay a hand on Hermione again you evil, sadistic, bastard!" Harry shouted.

As Voldemort screamed in pain, the environment around Harry faded into shadow. Hermione disappeared, Voldemort dissolved into nothingness, and the entire graveyard fell away. Harry was standing in the center of complete blackness. Out of the abyss came an animal that Harry could never mistake. An unusually large lion with a full and dark mane walked steadily toward him and bowed its head in respect.

"My human half, you have proven yourself worthy." The lion lifted its head and gazed directly into Harry's eyes. The lion possessed the same striking green eyes, which of course made NO SENSE until the connection was made that this was no ordinary lion. "This is my wisdom to you, strength of the body is strength of the soul. Our mate needs us, and weakness is unacceptable." Harry nodded slowly and the lion walked directly into him.

He shot up into a sitting position in Myrtle's bathroom, breathing heavily with his hand over his chest. He could feel something there he hadn't felt before. A strength that did not exist until that moment, along with a desperate need for Hermione that was stronger than ever.

Speaking of the witch Harry craved so desperately, she hurried to Harry and pulled him into a hug. "Are you okay? Did you succeed?" She asked. Harry nodded slowly. "What animal will you be? What wisdom did it have to pass on?"

Harry wrapped his arms around Hermione tightly and nuzzled his head against her neck. "I'm a lion," he whispered. "He told me to be strong, that our mate needs us and weakness is unacceptable."

Hermione let go of Harry and quirked an eyebrow. "Mate?" She asked.

Harry nodded, smiling. "I'm guessing he meant you," he said quickly. "I love you more than life, and an animal's significant other is their mate, isn't it?" He asked.

Hermione blushed and nodded. "I love you too, Harry," she said softly. "What does it feel like right now?" She asked.

Harry took a deep breath. "I feel so much stronger, and I need you even more than before. Please, take the potion quickly. I don't want us to get distracted by each other before we've finished the process."

Hermione nodded and poured a portion of the potion into her own glass. She drank it down without hesitation and her vision became incredibly blurred. Her entire environment swirled around her until it was nothing but a flurry of blended color and shadow. Hermione was not alerted to the change in environment by appearance, but by Harry's voice.

She turned to face him and noticed that she was restrained. Why was she restrained? This made no sense…

"Mione, it's my fault, I'm so sorry." She looked around and found that they were in the shrieking shack. Harry was tied down to the bed in the room while she was bound and lain on the cold ground. "When he comes in here I'm offering myself up to save you. I can't watch you die, I can't live with being the reason you're no longer here."

Hermione struggled against her bindings, panicking. Harry was not allowed to talk this way damn it, and nothing was going to change that. "Harry, I can't live without you either and I won't! Don't make me watch you die, I won't tolerate it!"

She watched Harry shake his head and sigh. "I knew something like this would happen Mione, I wanted to break up with you, keep you safe." He let out another sigh. "Now we're both going to die because of me. I never should have asked to kiss you, never should have asked you to go to hogsmead or the yule ball. I never should have saved you from that troll. I should have gotten a teacher to do it, you'd never have liked me if I hadn't saved you. I never would have gotten you into this much danger if I hadn't come into your life so dramatically. We're horrible for each other, dangerous, we were doomed from the start, Mione."

Harry's words normally would have had Hermione in tears or wanting to jump out a window, but at that moment all she felt was anger. Anger at Harry for giving up, for saying such awful things, and for his irrational logic. That anger gave her strength and she stood up, nearly shaking from her rage. Harry turned to see her and noticed that not only had her bindings disappeared, but he was free as well. He hurried off the bed and stood to face her, only to be shoved backward against the wall.

"Don't EVER say such horrible things again!" She shouted. "If you want to break up with me because you don't want me in your life anymore then do it! But don't you dare make me feel as though I made a mistake giving you my heart! I love you!" She yelled and Harry pulled her into a tight embrace.

Confusion reigned as Harry faded away into nothingness and the shrieking shack became a black abyss. It was oddly comforting being in the total blackness, but Hermione wanted to know what was going on. Rather suddenly, she noticed a large feline coming at her slowly. It ran its tongue over its mouth and stared back at Hermione. Hermione found that she was looking into the eyes of a cheetah, impossible to mistake with the tear-drop markings starting from the eyes of the stunning animal, reaching all the way to its mouth.

"My human half," The cheetah said with a purr and bowed her head. "You have proven yourself worthy." The cheetah raised its head and met Hermione's eyes. "Cherish this wisdom; you are not prey, you are a hunter with the determination to take and keep what is yours." The witch nodded slowly and the cheetah walked directly into her.

Hermione sat up quickly, breathing heavily. Harry was holding her in moments, rocking her back and forth gently. "You succeeded, didn't you?" He asked softly. Hermione nodded, blinking away tears that she didn't know she was about to shed. "What's your inner animal? What wisdom did she share with you?"

Hermione took a deep breath and looked up at Harry. "She told me that I am not prey, that I am a hunter with the determination to take and keep what is mine. My inner animal is a cheetah."

Harry nodded slowly and nuzzled his head against her neck again. "How do you feel?" He asked.

Hermione took another deep breath, inhaling Harry's strange new scent which she couldn't seem to figure out but loved instantly. "Incredible," she breathed the word, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Strong… powerful… energetic… and I want you right now!" She nearly growled. Harry seemed to snarl right back at her and stood up, lifting his witch up with him. "Are we going to the chamber?" She asked in a whisper.

Harry shook his head. "No, my dormitory. No one else will be there, and it's as much mine as you are." Without another word, Harry began to lead Hermione back to Gryffindor tower. They could think of nothing and no one outside of their desperate need for one another. Their inner animals had found their first link to the witch and wizard… each other.


	16. Chapter 16

Hermione's Harry

Author's Note: Alright, the only reviews I've gotten regarding James and Lily coming back were encouraging that course of action so I have decided to go in that direction. Thank you to everyone that was kind enough to give your opinions, it means the world to me in all honesty. This is the last chapter of Hermione's Harry and I will be continuing this story in Harmony vs. Toad face.

Chapter 16

Hermione couldn't seem to bring herself to pack. Every year she could quickly snap right through it with the promise of seeing her parents again in the back of her mind, encouraging her forward. She always hated leaving Harry behind, but this year it was breaking her heart to leave him again.

After pacing for several minutes and failing to achieve anything, she sighed and sat down on her bed. This was insane, she didn't want to leave her boyfriend damn it, she wanted to take him with her or go back to the Dursleys' with him. Maybe if she went to that wretched house with him she could keep his vile relatives from hurting him.

It took a few hours, a lot of pacing, a great deal of mental debating, and all of Hermione's willpower to put away all her things and head down those blasted stairs. Crookshanks followed behind her at a steady, almost lazy pace. Harry was waiting in the common room in his favorite chair, Hedwig resting on his shoulder and his stuff packed up at his feet.

Hermione sighed and fell back onto Harry's lap with a grumble. "I don't wanna go back. Can't we just run off together and tell the muggle and wizarding world to take a hike?" She asked and turned to face her boyfriend.

Harry wrapped his arms around her loosely and nuzzled his face against her neck in greeting. "Don't tempt me, I can't leave Padfoot or Moony and you can't leave your parents behind."

Hermione sighed again and rested her head against her boyfriend's chest. "Sure we can," she whispered. "We can be selfish and tell everyone to fuck off if we want." She peered straight into Harry's eyes pleadingly. "I know you want to, Harry. I wanna do it too."

Harry sighed and kissed Hermione softly. "Of course I want to Mione, but I can't." He looked up to see Ron walking up to the pair. Harry began to growl but Hermione placed a hand on his arm in an effort to calm him.

"Hey Harry, Hermione," Ron said and gulped. Harry continued to growl, despite Hermione's attempt to calm him. "Look… I know I fucked up, and I know I've got no right to ask you to forgive me."

Hermione nodded. "You're right, you have no right to ask us to forgive you!" She shouted. Ron took a step back and she launched herself onto her feet. "Quit beating around the bush Ronald, what do you want?" Harry stood up and took hold of Hermione's arm. His grip was tight but it didn't hurt. Hermione turned back to look at him and sighed. "Spit it out quickly."

Ron took a deep breath. "I'm not asking you to forgive me, I don't deserve it. But I'm still going to apologize because everything I've done since this year started has been completely unfair and I haven't been behaving like a friend." He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Bloody hell I haven't even been acting like a human being. I just want you to know that I understand why you're angry, you have every right to be, and I really am sorry that I screwed things up in our friendship."

Harry finally stopped growling and regarded Ron with a questioning expression. "Alright, so what are you apologizing for?" he asked of Ron.

"Accusing you of cheating to get into the tournament, refusing to believe you, not taking the time to understand why you didn't forgive me, starting fights with you constantly, and the interview I gave Rita Skeeter," Ron said quickly. He was sure that was everything that he had done.

Harry nodded slowly. "What about your girlfriend? Are you going to apologize for her assaulting Hermione over you? Are you going to request that she apologize to Hermione?" He asked with a cold and nearly hateful tone. "You caused a lot of problems this year that I'm not even sure you're aware of, Ron. And just because Voldemort returned last night doesn't mean I'm going to welcome you back with open arms. I appreciate the apology and I'm glad you're finally using your brain, but you are not forgiven and we are not friends. If you want to walk away with all of your limbs intact you might want to quit staring at my girlfriend's chest and leave right now."

Ron nodded quickly and hurried back up to the boy's dormitory. Hermione grumbled and hugged Harry tightly, sighing as he wrapped his arms around her. "I'd love to just tear him in half, but we still need to make the second potion and we can't until our inner animals bind themselves to us."

Harry grinned and kissed Hermione's forehead. "I know, I'd love to do the same half the time. But even if we could he's not worth it. Save your claws for death eaters."

The train ride was filled with tension. Harry didn't know how to feel about going back to the Dursleys this for this summer. He was never a fan of going back, but now it was worse. Hermione wasn't going to be with him at almost all times anymore, he was going to be alone all summer to deal with what had occurred in the graveyard. He would not go back to the Weasley home, he didn't want to deal with Ron trying to get back into his good graces. And to top it all off he was going to be worried about Hermione all summer because of Voldemort, and he was going to look over his shoulder constantly.

Hermione did her best to ignore the tension that she felt as she read Hogwarts, A History for the twenty-third time. Neville came in briefly with Ginny to say hello and wish them a good summer, which made Hermione smile for half a minute. Harry eventually decided to lay his head on her lap and took a nap.

As he slept Hermione watched him closely. When his eyelids scrunched as if he were in pain she ran a hand through his hair to calm him. It seemed to work too, he would always relax rather quickly and go back to dreaming peacefully.

It nearly broke her heart to wake him up when the train stopped, but his sleepy smile was infectious. They took hold of each other's hands until they grabbed their belongings. They wheeled themselves off of the platform to see Hermione's parents standing close to the barrier and the Dursleys standing several dozen feet away. What surprised Harry was the huge black dog waiting across from Hermione's parents, wagging its tail excitedly as Remus Lupin stood behind him looking exceptionally worse for the wear.

"Moony!" Harry cried and hugged the man as the dog nudged his leg. Harry eventually let go of Lupin and knelt down in front of his god father. "It's so good to see you Padfoot but you need to be more careful," he said softly and hugged him too. Hermione watched the exchange with fascination and waved to Lupin.

"Hello Remus," she said softly, and the werewolf shook hands with her.

"It's always a pleasure to see you Miss Granger," he said with a smile and looked past her to see Mr. and Mrs. Granger appearing rather bewildered. "I assume you're Hermione's parents?" He asked politely and held out his hand.

Harry looked up and attempted to breathe, ready for all hell to break loose. He knew he looked like a ragged mess with his over-sized muggle clothes and the bandage over his arm was visible because the sleeve of his large plaid shirt had ridden up when he hugged his god father. Add in his unruly hair and he did not look good enough for Hermione, judging only on appearances.

The woman Remus addressed looked almost exactly like Hermione, just a good deal older. Her hair was just as wildly curly, she was maybe a foot or two taller than her daughter and she had a warm smile. She took hold of Remus' hand first. "Yes, my name is Jean." She let go of the wizard's hand and pointed to the man by her side. "This is my husband Robert. It's nice to meet you sir."

Remus shook hands with Robert and both men smiled. Hermione knelt down beside Harry and scratched behind Padfoot's ear as the "adults" greeted each other. "You have quite an excitable dog, and he seems friendly too," Robert commented.

Sirius turned to face Robert and nodded his head. Remus shrugged with a smile. "Well, he and I both get that way when we get to see Harry." Harry looked up again at the sound of his name and did everything in his power to remain calm, but he failed when he caught the eye of Hermione's father.

Robert regarded the boy with curiosity. Hermione had written home about dating Harry, and before that he was usually all she spoke of. If this was really Harry Potter, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to react. Sure, he seemed nice enough to the dog present, and had hugged the man that Robert just met, but judging by his clothes and how skinny he was, along with the bandages on his arm, he looked quite the opposite of what he was expecting. Hermione always said that Harry was something of a celebrity in the wizarding world, so why did he look like a hobo?

Harry stood up slowly and dusted the dog hair off himself. Robert held out a hand. "So, you're the boy that snagged my little girl's heart?" Robert asked pleasantly. He watched Harry's face pale and the teenager slowly shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you Harry. Hermione has told us so much about you."

Harry looked ready to faint until Hermione took hold of his hand and smiled. "Daddy, quit being dramatic. Yes, Harry's my boyfriend."

Jean smiled and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "It's such a pleasure to meet you dear, Hermione really has told us a great deal about you." Harry smiled and nodded slowly.

"It's nice to meet you both too," he said shyly.

"Potter!" They all heard the yell and turned to face the purple-faced man that was marching toward them. Harry took a deep breath and turned back to face the Grangers.

"Please excuse what's about to happen," he said softly and turned back to his uncle with a look of anger.

Uncle Vernon marched straight up to Harry and prodded his chest with a sausage-like finger. "Your aunt and I agreed to come back and pick you up, we did not agree to wait around as you make unimportant chit chat with other freaks like you." Jean and Robert looked rather repulsed by Uncle Vernon's behavior, but what they weren't expecting was Harry's reaction.

Harry took a step closer to Vernon and scowled. Hermione saw the same look in his eyes that she'd seen when he was dueling Malfoy, hate. "In case you haven't noticed, I don't want to live with you either Uncle Vernon. I hate having to do every chore in the house while your precious Dudley pretends to be a little angel around you both. So, since I'm stuck living with you even though I hate it my only request is that you give me ten minutes of peace to talk with my dad's old friends and my girlfriend's parents.

Vernon turned an even darker shade of purple and grunted. "Five minutes, and we'll be waiting by the car." As he began to turn away, Lupin put a hand on Vernon's shoulder. "What the ruddy hell do you want, freak?" Vernon asked venomously.

Lupin smiled and removed his hand. "Just to give you a friendly warning. I am good friends with Harry's godfather," he paused and his smile widened. "I also happen to be a werewolf, in addition to being a wizard. You might want to be careful what you do and say around Harry." Vernon went from purple to ghostly pale in a matter of moments. "Do you understand sir?" Remus said softly.

Vernon nodded slowly and walked away. Harry turned back to Remus and smiled. "Wicked, thanks uncle Moony." When he turned back to Hermione's parents they seemed utterly confused and almost offended. "I'm really sorry about that, honest. My Uncle Vernon isn't exactly pleasant…"

Hermione took hold of Harry's hand again and kissed his cheek. "I don't want you to go back Harry."

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "We've talked about this at least fifteen times Mione, where else am I supposed to go? I have to go back to the Dursleys, now more than ever. Stupid blood wards…" he muttered. He turned back to Hermione's parents and shrugged. "Again, I'm really sorry. It was nice meeting you, but I guess I have to go."

Harry turned to leave, but Robert put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "It was nice meeting you too Harry, why don't we walk you back to your aunt and uncle?" He asked politely.

Harry smiled again and held on to Hermione's hand as he walked out of the train station with his girlfriend, unofficial uncles, and Hermione's parents. The final surprise of the day came from Lupin, who told them that Padfoot's house elf Kreacher would provide transportation for Hermione and Harry to visit each other. Harry almost couldn't believe that after everything that had happened, he was going to have a not-so-horrible summer.

In Godric's Hollow…

It was rather quiet on this particular night. Everything was perfectly still and peaceful… nothing at all amiss in the old cemetery. That was of course until two loud blasts rang out, followed by splintered coffin lids and heaps of dirt flying out of the ground in front of the grave markers of James and Lily Potter.

The two previously deceased individuals climbed out of their graves and dusted themselves off before embracing one another in a loving fashion. "Thank Merlin for preservation charms, and I'm so glad we were buried with our wands," Lily said offhandedly and kissed James.

James lifted his wife up and carried her to a nearby bench, sitting down with her. "I can't believe we're back," he said and turned to Lily, running a hand through her dirty hair. "We have a second chance with our son, with each other. This is amazing."

Lily nodded and kissed her husband again. When she turned back to the graves she sighed. "It would probably be best if the public wasn't aware of that though. We'll need to put this back the way it was and find Sirius."

James nodded slowly and sighed pointing his wand at the two graves they had just destroyed. In moments the splinters that used to be coffin lids fit themselves back together like puzzle pieces and all the dirt that had gone flying re-filled the graves. Without another word, the couple took hold of each other's hands and disappeared into the night.


End file.
